Companies and services around the world are reporting system outages, with airlines and airports also falling victim to the global crisis.
Problems appear to have begun on July 18, 2024, in the United States (US), with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) placing a ground stop on low-cost carrier Frontier Airlines flights.
In the midst of the problems, the airline said: “Our systems are currently impacted by a Microsoft outage, which is also affecting other companies. During this time booking, check-in, access to your boarding pass, and some flights may be impacted. We appreciate your patience.”
Allegiant and SunCountry also reported that they were having difficulties with their website operations.
In a separate post, Frontier said that the airline had been “impacted by a Microsoft outage”, but the systems issues were affecting other companies.
KLM and other airlines and airports have been affected by a global computer outage, making flight handling impossible. We realise that this is very inconvenient for our customers and staff, particularly in the midst of the summer holiday season. We’re working hard to resolve the… pic.twitter.com/O4gm7u0DIW
— KLM (@KLM) July 19, 2024
The ground stop was eventually lifted, with Frontier confirming that its IT systems were “gradually normalizing”.
According to CNN, Microsoft confirmed that its Azure cloud software went down for some customers in the Central US region.
However, on July 18, 2024, more companies and businesses were reporting problems with their IT systems, although it is not known if this is also an issue with Microsoft.
So far, Ryanair, Vueling Airlines, IndiGo, Ajet, SpiceJet, Air India Express, Transavia France, Turkish Airlines and Akasa Air have all confirmed that they have been affected by the outage and warned customers to expect delays.
We are affected by the global Microsoft issues, so passengers may experience some delays while checking in and passing through security.
— London Gatwick LGW (@Gatwick_Airport) July 19, 2024
Passengers should still arrive for their normal check-in time. We apologise for any inconvenience and are working to resolve the issue as… pic.twitter.com/T9adpYELxW
News outlet ABC claims that American Airlines, United and Delta have asked the FAA for global ground stops on all flights, according to an alert from the agency on July 19, 2024.
Sydney Airport (SYD) has reported system problems, but said that flights were currently arriving and departing.
Berlin Airport (BER), Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS) and Edinburgh Airport (EDI) have also announced issues with their IT systems.
More broadly, major banks, news agencies, telecommunication firms and transport companies worldwide are reporting problems.
In a statement, the Australian government stated that it is “working closely with the National Cyber Security Coordinator on this unfolding outage. The information as it stands is this outage relates to a technical issue with a third-party software platform employed by affected companies.”
It added: “As the Cyber Security Coordinator has said, there is no information to suggest this is a cyber security incident and they are continuing to engage across key stakeholders.”
Telstra in Australia has claimed that the problem relates to global issues “affecting both Microsoft and CrowdStrike”.
According to the BBC, American Airlines has claimed that cybersecurity company, CrowdStrike, suffered IT problems and that was the source of today’s issues.
