Tech outages scrambled operations across the world Friday, and airports bore the brunt of that struggle.
From Manila to Berlin to Newark, pilots, crew members and passengers were left stranded at airports as the outages caused major delays and cancelations.
Here’s what the scene looks like at airports across the globe:
The United Arab Emirates Ministry of Foreign Affairs has restored its electronic systems to normal following a global tech outage, the ministry said Friday.
The ministry said attestation services would also contin
A major East Coast airport has urged passengers not to come to the airport “unless they have confirmed their flight information with the airline.”
Charlotte Douglas International Airport is one of nine nationwide American Airlines hubs.
At Miami International Airport, another American Airlines hub, officials say US Customs and Border Patrol operations are being affected nationwide, “so international passenger arrivals are currently being processed manually at a slower pace.”
New York City bus and train services not impacted by global outages
Public transport in New York City, including bus and train services, are not affected by the outage, according to the local transit authority.
However, countdown clocks in stations are not working and customers may find that some functions in apps are unavailable, the city’s Metropolitan Transit Authority said.
The MTA oversees the New York City’s subway and bus systems; the Long Island Railroad, which services Long Island; and the Metro-North Railroad, which services Connecticut and upper New York.
Chilean airline warns of flight delays
Global outages “could be causing delays” in some LATAM Airlines flights, the Chilean carrier announced on Friday.
Passengers should “preventively” check their flight status ahead of any scheduled departures, LATAM said in a post on X.
Aviation expert: “Getting a plane off the ground without a computer is virtually impossible”
At airports across the globe, airline staff are scrambling to reassure customers and try to provide some clarity on when – or if – their flight might finally be able to take off. Some are resorting to paper-based systems to try to speed up the process while the IT system is down.
While staff might be able to console customers, they can do little until the computer systems are fully operational again, said Mary Schiavo, a CNN aviation analyst and former Inspector General at the US Department of Transportation.
“The lines at certain airports are literally out the door. So it’s having a pretty big impact. People are clinging to hope that the fix for the computer problem has been put in place,” Schiavo told CNN.
But she said “you cannot fly” without a fully operational IT system. “Other than putting a bag tag on, it’s all computer,” she said.
This US cybersecurity firm is behind the outage disrupting major infrastructure worldwide
The global computer outage affecting airports, banks and other businesses on Friday appears to stem at least partly from a software update issued by major US cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, experts told CNN.
CrowdStrike told customers early Friday that the outages were caused by “a defect found in a single content update” of its software on Microsoft Windows operating systems, according to a post on X from CEO George Kurtz.
CrowdStrike’s cybersecurity software — used by numerous Fortune 500 companies, including major global banks, health care and energy companies — detects and blocks hacking threats.
The company said the outage was not caused by a security incident or a cyberattack. Kurtz, in his post, said the issue was identified and isolated, and engineers deployed an update to fix the problem
CrowdStrike CEO says he is “deeply sorry” for widespread outages
The president and CEO of CrowdStrike, George Kurtz, has apologized for the impact of worldwide outages caused by a software update issued by the company, which has disrupted critical health care, travel and broadcasting services.
Speaking on NBC’s Today, Kurtz said: “We’re resolving, and have resolved the issue now.
“As systems come back online, as they’re rebooted, they’re coming up and they’re working,” he added. “And now we are working with each and every customer, to make sure that we can bring them back online.”
A Microsoft operating system had been impacted by the update, Kurtz clarified, saying that his company would have to further investigate “the way some of these operating systems work.”
“And as you might imagine, we’ve been on with our customers all night and working with them. Many of the customers are rebooting the system, and it’s coming up and it’ll be operational because we fixed it on our end, and some of the systems that aren’t recovering, we’re working with them,” he told NBC.
“It is our mission, it’s why we’re here, to make sure that every customer is fully recovered, and we’re not going to relent until we get every customer back to where they were. And we continue to protect them and keep the bad guys out of their systems,” he added.
A global IT outage has swept major services worldwide, disrupting public transport links, delaying international flights and restricting operations for health care facilities and businesses.
Here’s what you need to know:
What is behind the outage? The outage appears to stem at least partly from a software update issued by Crowdstrike, on Microsoft Windows systems. The US cybersecurity firm told customers early Friday that engineers were addressing the problem, according to an advisory viewed by CNN. The issue is specific to Falcon, which is designed to protect files saved in the cloud.
How long will the outage last? Microsoft said the “underlying cause” of the outage “has been fixed,” adding that residual impact is still affecting some services. “We’re conducting additional mitigations to provide relief,” the tech company said in a post on X. Some services have been restored, but others are still grappling with the disruptions.
Who has been affected? Global banks, medical services and critical infrastructure have been impacted by the outage. Medical providers including the UK’s National Health Service, and one of Europe’s largest health facilities in northern Germany, have been stifled by IT delays. Meanwhile, banks, broadcasting outlets and supermarkets in Australia, New Zealand and the UK were affected, including ABC News and Sky News.
Airlines worst hit: Scenes emerged of flustered travelers filling the corridors of major airports on Friday, as US and other international carriers in Europe, Asia and the Middle East had to delay and cancel flights. There are around 110,000 scheduled commercial flights today worldwide, according to preliminary data from Cirium, an aviation analytics company, shared with CNN. As of 6 a.m. ET, there were 1,390 canceled flights globally. That figure is growing.
International response: The White House says it is “looking into” the disruption caused by Friday morning’s cyber outages. “We’re aware of the incident and are looking into the issue and impacts,” a White House National Security Council spokesperson told CNN. Meanwhile, the UK government held an emergency meeting to discuss the outage, Downing Street said, according to the UK’s PA Media news agency.
The UK government held an emergency COBR meeting to discuss the global tech outage, Downing Street said Friday, according to PA media.
The spokesperson added that she is not aware of any government business being hit by the outage.
Asked why British Prime Minister Keir Starmer did not chair the meeting of the committee, the spokesperson said the Prime Minister “has had bilaterals with President Zelensky and Cabinet this morning, but all ministers including the Prime Minister are being kept informed with the latest.”
Cabinet Office Briefing Room (COBR) meetings bring together a committee of government department representatives to discuss the nation’s emergency response to crises.
The White House is “looking into” the disruption caused by Friday morning’s cyber outage that has hit airlines and businesses around the world.
The outage appears to stem at least partly from a software update issued by firm CrowdStrike, experts tell CNN. The CEO of CrowdStrike said that the IT issue causing a global outage has been identified and that a fix has been deployed.
There are no indications at this time of malicious activity, though the administration is still investigating, according to a source familiar.
Delta Air Lines says it has “paused its global flight schedule” due to the IT outage that has hit airlines and businesses worldwide.
The airline says it intends to issue new travel waivers for impacted customers.
Emergency communication services were down in several states on Friday morning following a global IT outage affecting airports, banks and other businesses.
Police in Phoenix, Arizona, said the outage had impacted the Phoenix Police Department’s computerized 911 dispatch center, but the 911 center remained operational.
“If you need to call 911, stay on the line if you are put on a brief hold. City IT is working diligently to find a workaround until the outage has been restored,” police said on X.
In Alaska, many 911 and non-emergency call centers aren’t working correctly across the state, Alaska State Troopers said in a Facebook post.
In New Hampshire, some 911 services were down overnight across the state but have since been restored, New Hampshire 911 said.
Meanwhile, the New York City mayor’s press secretary said critical infrastructure and emergency operations, including the 911 call system, have not been impacted.
Fabien Levy, deputy mayor for communication for mayor Eric Adams, told CNN that, since the outage impacts Windows-based devices receiving automatic updates, the NYC Office of Technology and Innovation has been working the past few hours to halt any forthcoming updates and minimize potential disruptions.
CNN has reached out to the Federal Communications Commission for more information on nationwide 911 outages.
The failure of IT systems across the world have caused delays and issues at airports across Asia, causing several airlines to ground flights.
Here’s a look at how the outage is affecting airports and airlines in Asia:
- AirAsia said its “core reservation and check-in system” have been impacted by the Microsoft tech issues.
- Cebu Pacific Air said it was forced to handle all processes manually due to the outage.
- Singapore Airlines said none of its flights had been impacted, but that it is experiencing technical difficulties.
- Taiwan’s Taoyuan International Airport said several airlines at the airport had been impacted. Jetstar, Hong Kong Express, Jeju Air and Scoot have all resorted to manual check-ins, the airport said.
- Dubai International Airport said the check-in process for some airlines had been affected, but that it is “now back to operating normally.”
- Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport and six Indian airlines have also reported technical difficulties. Jaipur International Airport said “flights nationwide” have been affected by the outage.
- South Korea’s Incheon International Airport said Air Premia, Easter Jet and several other airlines had been affected. Korean Air, the country’s flagship carrier, said it uses Amazon Web Services (AWS) and so had not been affected.
Microsoft says the underlying cause for the global outage has been fixed but impacts continue
Microsoft said the “underlying cause” that caused the global outage “has been fixed,” adding that residual impact is still affecting some services.
“We’re conducting additional mitigations to provide relief,” the post added.
More on what’s behind this: The outage appears to stem at least partly from a software update issued by firm CrowdStrike, experts tell CNN. The CEO of CrowdStrike said that the IT issue causing a global outage has been identified and that
Poland’s largest container trminal restores operations after outage
Poland’s largest container terminal, Baltic Hub, has restored its operations after being hit by the tech outage earlier on Friday.
Earlier Friday, Baltic Hub said on its website it was “struggling” with “a global Microsoft operating systems failure,” which was “hampering the terminal’s operation.”
Baltic Hub is Poland’s “largest and fastest growing container facility, and the only deep-water terminal in the Baltic Sea Region,” according to the its website.
“Absolute madness”: lines moving nowhere at Philadelphia Intl Airport
William Sikora III tells CNN that the current situation at Philadelphia International Airport is “absolutely insane right now” as passengers are impacted by a tech outage affecting flights around the world.
Sikora was attempting to fly back home Friday morning to Los Angeles and said the outage is already ruining his day with lines moving nowhere as he and thousands others at the airport wait for answers.
He said even if flights are just delayed, he expects many delays are going to eventually become canceled flights.
And if they don’t, Sikora said he will have to have family drive nearly an hour to come get him at the airport.
DC public transportation system affected by global outages
Public transport including trains and buses in Washington, D.C. have been impacted by Friday’s outages, the US capital’s transit authority has said.
The website for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), and a number of internal systems are “currently down,” according to a post on X, which said: “Our IT teams are working to address this issue.”
Trains would be held up from their normal 5 a.m. start time, WMATA added, also citing potential bus delays. The MetroAccess call center is down and anyone with a reservation will be contacted if their trip is canceled, the public transportation authority reported.
FAA is “closely monitoring” cyber outage impacting airlines
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is “closely monitoring” the cyber outage Friday morning that has hit airlines and businesses globally.
Major US carriers, including Delta, United and American Airlines, have had flights grounded, according to the FAA. International airlines, including Virgin Australia and Qantas, have also seen disruptions.
The CEO of CrowdStrike, a cybersecurity firm that has Microsoft among its clients, says the IT issue causing a global outage has been identified and that a fix has been deployed.
CNN has also reached out to the White House about the outages.
One of Europe’s largest medical care facilities, located in Germany, has been implicated by the cyber outage.
The German University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein (UKSH) canceled all elective procedures on Friday, according to a statement on its website.
Both locations in the cities of Kiel and Lübeck, northern Germany, have been affected. Outpatient clinics are also closed.
The “care of patients at the UKSH is secured, as is emergency care,” the statement added.
Which European airports and airlines have been affected by the outages?
Mass tech outages worldwide have caused IT systems to shut down, sparking delays and issues at European airports as well as affecting other transport links.
Here are the affected airports and airlines in Europe:
- London’s Gatwick Airport said it is “affected by the global Microsoft issues” and that passengers may experience delays checking in and going through security.
- Germany’s Berlin Airport said it is experiencing delays to check-in due to a “technical fault.”
- Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport said the “global system failure” had affected “flights to and from Schiphol” and the impact is “now being mapped.” KLM Royal Dutch Airlines said the outages are “making flight handling impossible.”
- Scotland’s Edinburgh Airport said the outages mean “wait times are longer than usual at the airport.”
- Spain’s airport authority, AENA, which supervises airports in Madrid, Barcelona and others across the country said the outage “could cause delays” and that its staff are working to solve the problems. Iberia Airlines, the flag carrier of Spain’s airline, told CNN their systems started working again at 9:30 a.m. local time (3:30 a.m. ET), adding there were still some delays.
- Prague Airport said the issues have affected its global check-in system, delaying flights.
- Ireland’s Ryanair also confirmed a disruption to the airline’s network, advising passengers to arrive at least three hours before their scheduled departure time.
- Air France, the country’s flag carrier, said the IT issue had disrupted its operations — although flights already in the air are not affected.
- Turkish Airlines said it was experiencing problems with ticketing, check-in and reservations. “Our teams are working diligently to resolve the issue,” the airline said.
- How many flights have been affected by the global tech outages?
The CEO of cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike said a fix for the global tech outage was on the way — but until the issues are resolved, they’re causing chaos at airports across the globe.
Cirium, an aviation analytics company, shared preliminary data with CNN on Friday about the extent of the disruption.
- Across the globe, there are around 110,000 scheduled commercial flights today. As of 6 a.m. ET, there were 1,390 canceled flights globally. That figure is growing.
- In the US, more than 27,000 flights are scheduled to carry more than 3.7 million passengers, including international departures. As of 6 a.m. ET, 512 flights set to take off from the US have been canceled — about 1.9%, which is significantly higher than usual at this point in the day.
- In Germany, 4,386 flights are scheduled to take off, carrying up to 791,000 passengers. So far, 92 flights have been canceled.
- In France, 3,630 flights are scheduled to take off, with up to 666,000 passengers. So far, 28 flights have been canceled.
- In India, 3,652 flights are set to take off. Some 56 have been canceled so far.
- In Canada, 3,549 flights will depart the country, carrying up to 444,000 passengers. So far, 21 have been canceled.
A global tech outage has caused delays and issues with airlines across North America.
Here’s the latest on what we know so far:
- American Airlines initially grounded flights Friday morning due to a communication issue, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. Later, the airline told CNN it had “safely reestablished” operations impacted and apologized to customers.
- United Airlines said it’s resuming “some flights” early Friday morning, but cautioned travelers that they may experience delays.
- Delta Air Lines said it has “paused its global flight schedule” as it works through “a vendor technology issue.”
- Allegiant Airlines and SunCountry said they were having difficulty with their booking, check-in and trip-managing functions online.
- Frontier Airlines said it had been “impacted by a Microsoft outage” and had to ground all flights. US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said the government was monitoring technical issues at Frontier.
- Spirit Airlines’ booking system has been impacted, said the airline, which operates flights across the US, the Caribbean and Latin America. The budget carrier asked passengers to check for updates and apologized “for any inconvenience this may cause,” in a travel advisory posted on its website.
- Porter Airlines, based in Toronto, announced it is canceling flights Friday until noon ET due to “prolonged third-party technology systems outages affecting multiple global industries,” according to a statement on the airline’s website.
- Additionally, Some airlines at Newark Liberty International Airport, LaGuardia Airport and John F. Kennedy Airports are affected by the outage, according to the airports.
- Dubai airport resumes normal operations
Dubai International Airport, one of the world’s busiest aviation hubs, resumed its normal operations following global IT outages, the airport announced on Friday.
Government affected: But the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Friday that a global technical issue has affected some of its electronic systems, including its attestation service.
“We advise all clients to refrain from conducting any transactions until this issue is resolved,” the ministry said in a post on X.
CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz said that the IT issue causing a global outage has been identified and that a fix has been deployed.
Kurtz said the cybersecurity company is working with “customers impacted by a defect found in a single content update for Windows hosts” and that the issue was “not a security incident or cyberattack.”
Here’s his full statement:
The global computer outage affecting airports, banks and other businesses on Friday appears to stem at least partly from a software update issued by firm CrowdStrike, experts told CNN.
CrowdStrike told customers early Friday that it was “aware of reports of crashes” of its software on Microsoft Windows operating systems, according to a company advisory viewed by CNN.
The company’s engineers took action to address the problem, according to the advisory, which told customers to reboot their computers and perform other actions if they were still having technical issues. The issue is specific to Falcon, one of CrowdStrike’s main software products, and is not impacting Mac or Linux operating systems, according to the advisory.
CrowdStrike’s cybersecurity software — used by numerous Fortune 500 companies — detects and blocks hacking threats. Like other cybersecurity products, the software requires deep-level access to a computer’s operating system to scan for those threats. In this case, computers running Microsoft Windows appear to be crashing because of the faulty way a software code update issued by CrowdStrike is interacting with the Windows system.
CrowdStrike is perhaps best known for investigating the Russian hack of Democratic National Committee computers during the 2016 US election. But the multibillion-dollar firm does business around the world through software sales and investigations of major hacks.
CNN has requested comment from CrowdStrike.
American Airlines has resolved a technical issue that impacted their services Friday morning, the airline said.
“Earlier this morning, a technical issue with a vendor impacted multiple carriers, including American. As of 5 a.m. ET, we have been able to safely re-establish our operation. We apologize to our customers for the inconvenience,” the airline said in a statement to CNN.
UK’s National Health Service says outages are causing disruption in most GP practices
The UK’s National Health Service (NHS) said the IT outages have affected most GP practices in England, but there is no known impact on emergency services.
“The NHS is aware of a global IT outage and an issue with a GP appointment and patient record system,” NHS England said Friday.
It said it has “long standing measures in place to manage the disruption, including using paper patient records.”
NHS England encouraged people to use emergency services “as they usually would.”
Customer information systems at North America’s largest transportation network temporarily offline
The global tech outage has caused some Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) customer information systems to go temporarily offline Friday morning, according to officials. “Train and bus service is unaffected,” the MTA said in a post. “Please listen for announcements in your station, on your train, or on your bus.”The MTA is North America’s largest transportation network, according to its website, and serves a population of 15.3 million people.
India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology said the reason for the ongoing tech outage has been identified and “updates have been released to resolve the issue.”
The ministry “is in touch with Microsoft and its associates regarding the global tech outage,” Ashwini Vaishnaw, India’s minister for railways, information and broadcasting, electronics & information technology, said via X on Friday.
The Jaipur International Airport in the western Indian state of Rajasthan said earlier that “flights nationwide ” have been affected by the outage.
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in the financial capital of Mumbai also shared an advisory via X, saying “select airline operations” were affected, including “booking, check-in, access to boarding passes and flights.”Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport and six Indian airlines have also reported technical difficulties, resulting in the disruption of their services.
Budget airlines at Seoul’s international airport impacted by outageFrom CNN’s Yoonjung Seo in SeoulBudget airlines at South Korea’s Incheon International Airport are experiencing delays in check-in and boarding procedures due to internal system failures, an airport spokesperson said.
Air Premia, Jeju Air, Eastar Jet, Jetstar and Hong Kong Express airlines are experiencing delays in issuing boarding passes at check-in counters and during boarding procedures, the spokesperson said. The airlines use computer systems based on Microsoft’s cloud service. Incheon International Airport does not use the Microsoft system, and so is not experiencing any disruptions, its spokesperson told CNN.The South Korean flag carrier Korean Air said it uses Amazon Web Services (AWS) and was not affected by the outage.
CrowdStrike and Microsoft shares down before markets open
From CNN’s Laura He
CrowdStrike stock plummeted by more than 18% in pre-market trading on Friday in New York, indicating heavy selling pressure that could cause it to open sharply lower.Microsoft’s shares also declined 2%. Both companies are listed on the Nasdaq exchange.Industry experts have said the global tech outages appear to stem from an issue with CrowdStrike, a cybersecurity firm that has Microsoft Windows among its clients.
US Transportation Secretary Buttigieg says will hold airlines “to their responsibilities”
US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said the government was monitoring technical issues at Frontier Airlines, which had to ground all flights after citing problems involving a Microsoft outage.“We are monitoring technical issues at Frontier Airlines leading to cancellations and delays across their network. Our department will hold Frontier, and all airlines, to their responsibilities to meet the needs of passengers. to know your rights,” Buttigieg wrote on X.Earlier on Thursday, Frontier said its systems had been “impacted by a Microsoft outage, which is also affecting other companies.”The Federal Aviation Administration said Frontier asked it to pause the airline’s departures across the US, though that ground stop was lifted later that night.
American Airlines says it is working to “resolve the issue as quickly as possible”
American Airlines, which had flights grounded earlier Friday by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), said it was working to fix the problem as airports and airlines around the world face major disruptions.
Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, and Allegiant Airlines also had all flights grounded on Friday.
Australian prime minister activates National Coordination Mechanism to deal with tech outages
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the National Coordination Mechanism has been activated to deal with the ongoing tech outages.
“I understand Australians are concerned about the outage that is unfolding globally and affecting a wide range of services,” the prime minister said on X, adding that “there is no impact to critical infrastructure, government services or Triple-0 services at this stage.”
The NCM brings together different government agencies – state and territory – as well as industry and private sector stakeholders to coordinate a large-scale response to crises, and was first activated in the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Malaysian stock exchange experiencing disruptions
Malaysia’s Bursa Malaysia Bhd stock exchange is experiencing tech outages.
Bursa Malaysia Bhd also said the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI index value feed is “experiencing service disruption” and that the company is investigating the matter, according to Malaysia’s national news agency Bernama.
The country’s largest railway operator, KTM Berhad, said its ticketing system and all customer service channels were facing disruptions “due to Crowdstrike Microsoft Windows,” and that it was working to restore services.
What is CrowdStrike? Industry experts have said the global tech disruption appears to stem from an issue with CrowdStrike, a cybersecurity firm that has Microsoft Windows among its clients.
One of CrowdStrike’s main products is CrowdStrike Falcon, a cybersecurity platform used by large corporations and government clients including major global banks, healthcare and energy companies, according to the company.
It has so far not addressed the ongoing outage possibly linked to its software. CNN has reached out to CrowdStrike for commen
Banks around the world hit by outages
Commonwealth Bank, Australia’s largest, has reported disruptions to its operations. Australian lenders ANZ and Westpac have also been impacted, according to Downdetector, a website that tracks cyber outages. Downdetector has also reported issues for New Zealand’s ASB Bank.
South Africa’s Capitec said it was experiencing nationwide service disruptions due to an unexpected issue with an international service provider but added later that all services are now back up and running.
In the United Kingdom, a Barclays spokesperson said the bank’s digital investing platform Smart Investor had been affected, with customers unable to manage their account in the app, online or over the phone.
The Bank of England said its systems haven’t been affected. “We are monitoring the situation closely and continuing to engage with firms and other authorities,” the bank said.
In Israel, a spokesperson for the central bank said a global technical malfunction at CrowdStrike is having a “partial technical impact” on the country’s banking system. The Bank of Israel is dealing with it, the spokesperson added.
Meanwhile, Visa said “there is no indication” of any impact on its ability to process payments. The global payments technology company noted: “We are aware of reports of people being unable to make payments and are working with our financial institution clients to understand any impact on their services to cardholders and merchants.”
Similarly, Visa’s competitor Mastercard said “there is no current indication that these issues are impacting our systems.”
Citi in the United States declined to comment on whether the bank is experiencing issues.
Asian airlines hit by tech disruption
Asian airlines AirAsia, Cebu Pacific Air and Singapore Airlines have all been hit by the ongoing global tech disruption, the carriers said on their respective social media channels.
AirAsia said in a post on X that, “Our core reservation and check-in system are impacted by Microsoft’s cloud services outage affecting airlines worldwide.”
Cebu Pacific Air said it was forced to handle all processes manually due to the outage.
Singapore Airlines noted on X that none of its flights have been impacted, but that it is experiencing technical difficulti
Kelly Skjerven was headed to a friend’s bachelorette party in Las Vegas, Nevada when she found herself among hundreds of people stranded at San Francisco airport on Friday morning due to a global technology outage.
Skjerven told CNN she was on board her United Airlines flight, which was scheduled for 11 p.m. on Thursday, when staff informed passengers over the intercom that they were experiencing IT issues.
Passengers were then told to deplane while the airline worked to resolve the issue, which has disrupted airlines worldwide, as well as health systems, banks, grocery stores, and media companies.
Weary passengers are now waiting by the gates, Skjerven said, with some adults and children sleeping on the floor. Skjerven said she called a nearby hotel but it was full.
Skjerven’s journey to Vegas started Thursday morning, in Toronto, Canada. She was re-routed through San Francisco when her WestJet flight from Calgary to Las Vegas Thursday was canceled due to a staffing issue, unrelated to the technology outage.
CNN has reached out to WestJet.
Cathay Pacific, Disneyland among those affected in Hong Kong
Cathay Pacific Airways and Hong Kong Disneyland say their operations have been impacted by technical issues as tech disruptions hit airlines and businesses worldwide.
The Hong Kong flagship airline’s online flight booking service is currently unavailable, according to a statement on its website.
The airline advised passengers to leave enough time for check-in and that it is working to restore services soon.
Hong Kong Disneyland said its online ticketing system was down due to an “unexpected computer system outage” and asked park visitors to purchase on-day tickets from a ticket booth at the park’s entrance.
Hong Kong Stock Exchange had not been affected, its spokesperson told CNN.
Six Indian airlines and Delhi airport impacted by tech disruptions
Six Indian airlines are experiencing issues with online services due to problems with their service providers, as large-scale tech outages hit airlines and businesses around the world.
- IndiGo, one of India’s major airlines, said on Friday that their systems across the network were impacted by an ongoing issue with Microsoft Azure, resulting in increased wait times at contact centers and airports.
- Indian low-cost airlines SpiceJet, Air India Express, and Akasa Air are also experiencing technical challenges with their service providers, affecting online services such as booking, check-in and trip-management services.
- India’s largest airline Air India also said on Friday that its digital systems have been impacted temporarily due to the current Microsoft outage, resulting in delays.
- Vistara, an international airline based in Delhi, said it is facing technical challenges across “various aspects of our operations due to a global outage at our service provider’s end.”
- New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport said on Friday some of their services were temporarily impacted “due to the global IT issue,” requesting passengers to be in touch with the airline concerned.
- Israeli health service disrupted by worldwide tech malfunction
A “widespread worldwide” computer malfunction is affecting hospitals and other health services in Israel, the country’s health ministry said in a statement Friday.
Tech outages are causing disruption globally, with airports and media outlets affected across Europe, North America and the Asia-Pacific region.
Singapore’s famed Changi airport facing IT disruption
Singapore’s famed Changi airport, often named the world’s best airport, is facing IT disruptions, according to a post on its Facebook page.
It’s among a number of airports around the world currently facing tech disruptions, including in Europe and Australia.
Changi handles 95 million passengers per year, and topped Skytrax’s list of best airports for eight years in a row – before dropping a few spots during the pandemic, and reclaiming its crown last year.
Sky News, a major television news channel in the UK, was unable to broadcast live on Friday morning.
The network’s executive chairman David Rhodes apologized to viewers for the interruption, saying many news reports are still available online.
United Airlines cites “third party software outage” for grounded flights
United Airlines said in a statement Friday that all aircraft were grounded while it worked to fix a “third party software outage,” after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced the ground stop of several major US carriers.
Delta Air Lines, American Airlines and Allegiant Airlines are all grounded too, regardless of flights’ destinations, the FAA said.
International airlines, including Virgin Australia and Qantas, have also reported tech disruptions, though operations are still continuing.
Which airlines and businesses have been affected by the global tech outage?
Tech disruptions around the world have left flights grounded, businesses struggling with IT issues, and customers unable to access tech services. Here are some companies affected so far:
- All flights have been grounded for United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and American Airlines. The Federal Aviation Administration cited communication issues and did not say how long the “ground stop” would last.
- Allegiant Airlines flights were also grounded. Earlier on Thursday, Allegiant said its website was unavailable due to an issue with Microsoft Azure, the tech giant’s cloud software.
- Microsoft said Friday it was investigating an issue impacting users’ ability to access various Microsoft 365 apps and services. Earlier on Thursday, it said on its Azure status report site that the service had gone down for some customers in the United States, adding it had determined the cause and is working to fix it.
- Other global airlines including Virgin Australia and Qantas have been impacted by IT disruptions, saying they are still operating but with delays.
- Airports in Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney are experiencing similar disruptions, though flights are still arriving and departing.
- Australian banking and telecoms institutions such as ANZ, Westpac, Visa, and Optus have also been impacted, according to Downdetector, a website that tracks cyber outages.
- Chinese Microsoft customers are seeing a “blue screen” with an error message, popularly known as the BSOD (blue screen of death), Microsoft confirmed Friday.
- The London Stock Exchange said its news service is experiencing “a third-party global technical issue,” preventing news from being published on its website. The company’s other services, including the exchange itself, continue to operate as normal, it added.
- Other businesses impacted include Australian supermarket chains, state police, its national broadcaster, and New Zealand banks.
- What is CrowdStrike and is it linked to the outage?
Industry experts have said the disruption appears to stem from an issue with cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike. Microsoft Windows is among its clients.
One of the company’s main products is CrowdStrike Falcon, described on its website as a platform “providing real-time indicators of attack, hyper-accurate detection and automated protection” from possible cybersecurity threats.
Founded in 2011, CrowdStrike sells Falcon to big corporations and government clients, including major global banks, healthcare and energy companies, according to the company.
It has so far not addressed the ongoing outage possibly linked to its software. CNN has reached out to CrowdStrike for comment.
The global IT outage appears to have been caused by an issue with the CrowdStrike antivirus software, according to professor Salil Kanhere, from the University of New South Wales in Sydney.
Australian airlines Virgin Australia and Qantas Airways have been impacted by massive tech disruptions on Friday, the carriers confirmed to CNN.
Qantas Airways also said it is experiencing “some impacts to systems due to a global software issue.”
Airport impacts: Melbourne and Sydney airports said they are experiencing impacts to operations due to global technical disruptions.
Sydney Airport said flights are still arriving and departing, “however there may be some delays throughout the evening.” It said it activated contingency plans and deployed additional staff to terminals.
Melbourne Airport said the “global technology issue” is impacting procedures for some airlines and advised passengers to provide extra time for check-in.
The London Stock Exchange said its news service was experiencing “a third-party global technical issue,” preventing news from being published on its website.
Technical teams were working to restore the service, and the company’s other services, including the exchange itself, continue to operate as normal, it said.
Professor Jill Slay, the University of South Australia’s SmartSat Chair for Cybersecurity said the “global impact” of the major global outage is “enormous” but that it was “too early to draw conclusions” on what caused it.
Slay said the outage “may easily be a result of misconfiguration by one of these companies, or ‘interference’ between products, the global impact is enormous.”
“It is possible that there is a security breach, but to me, this is instinctively unlikely.”
Microsoft said Friday it was investigating an issue affecting users’ access to various Microsoft 365 apps and services, including Teams.
“Our services are still seeing continuous improvements while we continue to take mitigation actions,” it said.
It added some users “are seeing relief” as the company addresses the issue and said the preliminary cause was a configuration change that “resulted in connectivity failures.”
Australia and New Zealand have been hit by large-scale cyber outages that have affected businesses, government services and airports.
Downdetector, a website that tracks cyber outages, reported impacts to Australian banking and telecoms institutions such as ANZ, Westpac, Visa, and Optus.
Australia’s National Cyber Security Coordinator said it was “aware of a large-scale technical outage affecting a number of companies and services across Australia this afternoon.”
It added that “there is no information to suggest it is a cyber security incident.”
Airlines affected: Sydney Airport said in a post on X that “a global technical outage has impacted some airline operations and terminal services,” adding that flight arrivals and departures continued, with some delays possible throughout the evening.
Brisbane Airport said a global IT issue was impacting check-in for “some airlines at the airport and some terminal services.” Flights are continuing to operate, the airport said.
Supermarket chains: Woolworths and Coles also reported disruptions to their operations, as well as Commonwealth Bank, Australia’s largest bank.
Police and broadcasters: New South Wales Police also reported issues, and Australia’s national broadcaster ABC said it was “experiencing a major network outage, along with several other media outlets.”
New Zealand: Downdetector in New Zealand also reported issues for banks, including ASB. Christchurch Airport was also experiencing IT issues across a number of systems “which may affect flight arrivals and departures,” the airport said on X.
Microsoft outage impacting customers in Chi
Microsoft confirmed on Friday that an outage is impacting customers across China with many experiencing a “blue screen” showing an error message.
The company said there could be several issues causing the blue screen such as a “security system update” or an “incompatibility” problem.
Microsoft did not offer any solutions at this time, instead directing users to make an appointment with the company’s IT technicians.
All flights of several major US airlines – including Delta, United and American Airlines – were grounded Friday morning due to a communication issue, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
The “ground stop” impacts all flights from the airlines, regardless of their destination, said the FAA.
It’s unclear how long the ground stop will last, though the FAA suggested an update would be available by 5 a.m. ET.
Their grounding comes after a significant Microsoft outage brought Frontier Airlines to a standstill for hours on Thursday – though the ground stop for those airlines has since been lifted.
