Videos are circulating on social media showing chaos at airports after a major computer outage linked to tech giant Microsoft and cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike.
Images and photos show huge crowds at airports, departure screens going dark, passengers being handed boarding passes and flights being diverted.
The context
A global outage of Microsoft systems disrupted many services around the world on Friday, with major impacts reported in the banking, airline and media sectors.
Getty Images, Canva Stock
CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz released a statement confirming that the company is “actively working with customers impacted by a flaw found in a single content update for Windows hosts.”
“The issue has been identified, isolated and a fix has been deployed,” he added.
Kurtz said it was not a cyberattack.
In a statement shared with Newsweek A Microsoft spokesperson said: “We are aware of an issue affecting a subset of customers.”
“We recognise the impact this may have on customers and are working to restore services for those still experiencing disruption as quickly as possible.”
Stefanie Dazio/AP
Major U.S. airlines, including Delta, United and American Airlines, suspended flights Friday morning, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
An American Airlines spokesperson said: Newsweek:”We are aware of a technical issue with CrowdStrike that is impacting multiple carriers. American is working with CrowdStrike to resolve the issue as quickly as possible and we apologize to our customers for the inconvenience.”
The airline also confirmed that it was in contact with its currently flying aircraft.
Frontier Airlines announced the issues on X, formerly Twitter, writing: “During this time, booking, checking in, accessing your boarding pass, and some flights may be affected.”
What we know
Images shared on X, formerly Twitter, show a crowded terminal at Los Angeles International Airport, along with blank screens.
Passengers were also stranded in Russia after an Air India flight had to be diverted to Krasnoyarsk last night. A flight has now taken off from Mumbai to help the passengers.
Newsweek contacted Air India for comment.
Long queues were seen at London Gatwick Airport, which issued a statement on X: “We are affected by Microsoft’s global issues, so passengers may experience delays when checking in and going through security.”
Irish airline Ryanair has ordered Newsweek to a statement on its website that reads: “We are currently experiencing a network disruption due to a third-party global IT outage, which is entirely beyond our control. Reservations and check-in are currently unavailable.”
X users shared photos of handwritten boarding passes while systems were down.
The startup screens were showing error messages and going blank.
And after
According to aviation analytics firm Cirium, today is set to be the busiest day for flights in the UK since 2019. It is the last day of the academic year for many schools across the country and many families are planning to head to the airport for their summer holidays.
Do you have a story to tell us? Do you have any questions about this? Microsoft’s breakdown? Contact LiveNews@newsweek.com
Uncommon knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
