A major internet outage affecting Microsoft has disrupted flights, banks, media outlets and businesses around the world, with problems lasting hours after the tech company said it was gradually working to fix an issue affecting access to Microsoft 365 apps and services.
Airlines and airports in the United States, Europe, Australia, India and elsewhere reported problems, with some flights canceled. Retail outlets, banks, railway companies and hospitals in several parts of the world were also affected by what appeared to be an unprecedented internet outage.
Here is the latest news:
Banks in South Africa suffer service outage for several hours
CAPE TOWN, South Africa — In South Africa, at least two major banks said they were experiencing service outages after customers complained they could not make payments using their bank cards at grocery stores, gas stations or ATMs. The banks said they were able to restore service within hours.
South Africa’s regional airline Airlink also said its IT network and phone lines were down due to what it called a global network outage, but said flights were not affected.
London Stock Exchange sees disruptions but trading unaffected
LONDON – The London Stock Exchange said it was experiencing disruption due to a technology outage that caused chaos around the world.
The London Stock Exchange said its regulatory news service was not working on Friday morning, but the outage did not affect trading.
“We are currently experiencing a technical issue with a third party that is affecting some of our services,” a London Stock Exchange Group spokesperson said in a statement.
The exchange says it is trying to resolve the issue as soon as possible.
Long queues at many airports around the world, but some systems are back up and running
Long queues have formed at many airports around the world due to a global internet outage that has affected check-in procedures for flights – although systems are now back online in some locations.
Berlin’s Brandenburg Airport said in a statement that its operations were gradually returning to normal, although some airlines had to cancel flights after being hit by the outage since 7 a.m. local time (0500 GMT).
“Passenger processing continued with some restrictions. Departures were conducted with some restrictions. There are still waiting times. Unfortunately, airlines have had to cancel some flights. Airport systems have been restored and we are gradually returning to normal operations,” the airport said.
German airline Eurowings, a subsidiary of Lufthansa, said it had been forced to cancel its domestic flights in Germany as well as services to and from the UK due to disruptions to check-in and boarding. It urged passengers within Germany to book and present train tickets for compensation.
In South Korea, several low-cost airlines reported problems, causing delays for passengers at Incheon International Airport, the country’s largest, airport officials said.
Jeju Air said it had problems with ticket bookings and other services on its website. Air Primea said key services on its website, such as ticket bookings, cancellations and online check-in, were not working. Eastar Jet’s website was unavailable as of early Friday evening. Officials at Incheon Airport and the country’s transport ministry said they were checking details of the damage.
AirAsia said on its Thailand Facebook page that its booking and check-in system had been affected and encouraged passengers to go to airports early as they could face slower check-in and longer queues.
In the United States, United Airlines said the outage affected its computer systems and warned customers of possible flight delays. The company said some flights had resumed and that it was issuing waivers to make it easier to change travel plans on its website.
The cybersecurity firm that caused the IT outage says the problem was not a cyberattack or security incident.
LONDON – The chief executive of the cybersecurity firm that caused Microsoft’s global outage said the company is working to fix a bug that was sent in a Windows update.
“This is not a security incident or cyberattack. The issue has been identified, isolated, and a fix has been deployed,” CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz said on social media platform X.
Kurtz said there was a glitch in a “single content update for Windows hosts.” Mac and Linux hosts were not affected.
The company has referred customers to its support portal for updates.
Pharmacy chains in Norway report problems with supply of prescription drugs
HELSINKI – Two pharmacy chains in Norway say they are having problems supplying prescription medicines to customers and are experiencing significant connection delays due to global network problems.
Several branches of the Apotek1 pharmacy across Norway have been closed after being affected by IT problems that also halted the chain’s online sales, Norwegian news agency NTB reported.
The Boots pharmacy and drugstore chain also had problems delivering products to customers in Norway. “Due to global network issues, you may experience challenges in ordering and possible delays in shipping,” Boots said, according to NTB.
Paris Olympics organizers said some Olympic delegations were delayed in arriving.
PARIS – The arrival of some Olympic delegations, as well as the delivery of some uniforms and credentials, was delayed due to the outage, organizers of the Paris Olympic Games said.
Organisers said in a statement that ticket sales and the torch relay were unaffected. “Our teams are fully mobilised to ensure operations continue at optimum levels,” they added.
Internet outage causing problems at most doctors’ surgeries across England
LONDON – A global internet outage is causing problems at most doctors’ offices across England, the National Health Service said.
The National Health Service in England said in a statement that the glitch affected the appointment and patient records system used across the health service. The state-funded NHS treats the vast majority of people in the UK.
The NHS said the problem was affecting the majority of family doctor practices, but had not reached the 999 number used to call emergency ambulances.
Airlines around the world are reporting flight disruptions.
Airlines around the world, from Thailand to Australia, India, the United States and many European countries, have reported check-in system disruptions and other problems that have grounded or delayed flights.
As athletes and spectators from around the world headed to France for the Paris Olympics, the Paris airport authority said its computer systems were “unaffected” by the global outage, but many airlines and airports elsewhere were affected.
As a result, “this situation is affecting airline operations at Paris Charles de Gaulle and Paris Orly airports: delays in check-in procedures, delays and temporary suspension of some flights. Our teams are ready to guide and assist passengers,” the airport authority said in a statement.
In the United States, the Federal Aviation Administration said United, American, Delta and Allegiant airlines had suspended flights.
Thailand’s Suvarnabhumi Airport, the gateway to one of the world’s most visited cities, reported that some airlines had to manually check in passengers due to a power outage on its systems, while AirAsia was manually checking in passengers at the country’s second-largest airport, Don Mueang. The director of Tourism Thailand, the country’s tourism authority, told state broadcaster Thai PBS that the problem was with Navitaire, an e-commerce platform for air travel, and that up to six airports were affected.
In Germany, flights at Berlin Brandenburg Airport were grounded for several hours on Friday morning due to problems with check-in procedures, while some flights were cancelled. A spokeswoman for the airport said flights resumed after 10 a.m. Problems were also reported at busy European hubs such as Amsterdam, Zurich and Rome.
Poland’s Baltic Container Terminal Suspends Operations
WARSAW – Baltic Hub, a major container hub in Poland’s Baltic Sea port of Gdansk, said it was experiencing problems caused by a global outage. Baltic Hub said in a statement that its entry gates were temporarily closed and operations had been suspended.
British TV returns
LONDON – Britain’s Sky News has returned to broadcasting after being cut off in the morning. The news anchor pointed to printed notes as Sky News returned to broadcasting. The channel was able to provide news online, on its app and website, during the outage.
Retrieve Milan Stock Exchange Index Information
ROME – Borsa Italiana, the company that runs the Milan stock exchange, said “correct disclosure of the FTSE MIB index has been restored.” Earlier on Friday, the company said the index had not been updated, without providing further information.
Israel’s Cyber Directorate attributes outage to cybersecurity platform Crowdstrike
JERUSALEM — Israel’s Cyber Directorate said Friday it was among those affected by global outages, attributing them to a problem with its cybersecurity platform CrowdStrike. The outage also affected post offices and hospitals across the country, according to the communications and health ministries.
“CrowdStrike is aware of reports of outages on Microsoft outlets related to the Falcon sensor,” a voice recording played on CrowdStrike’s customer service line said. The company attributed the issues to one of its products used to prevent cyberattacks. The company said callers should monitor its customer support portal.