POWER OUTAGE: Updates of the global situation

Around the globe, many companies are experiencing power outages. Some of these are airlines and airports, while others are healthcare providers, broadcasting and online payment companies.

All times are GMT.

At 0758, the BBC reported that flights at Sydney Airport had been grounded. The London Stock Exchange were also reported to be experiencing issues.

At 0759 Microsoft reported that they were experiencing an outage.

0802: GTR (UK rail operator) announced that they were experiencing difficulties, leading to short-notice cancellations and delays.

0806: Berlin Airport reports delays due to “technical fault.” In Spain, airports reported an “incident.”

“We are working to solve it as soon as possible. Meanwhile, operations are continuing with manual systems,” the Spanish airport operator said.

0810: Sky News is off air in the UK.

0824: Departure boards freeze and malfunction at Edinburgh Airport. They showed out-of-date information to customers; some passengers have now missed their flights. A fire alarm was triggered, thought to be due to a computer error. Edinburgh Airport announce that the issue will be resolved.

0846: Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport has been affected.

“The outage has an impact on flights flying from and to Schiphol,” a spokesperson said, adding it is not yet clear how many flights are affected.

0847: Long queues are reported at London Stansted, but flights are reportedly still running. 

“Our main operational systems are unaffected,” a spokesperson says, but “some retail payment machine services have been impacted”.

0902: Christchurch International Airport report an outage. They announce that it may affect arrivals and departures.

0902: Cybersecurity company CrowdStrike are named in the situation. A cybersecurity update gone wrong is mentioned, bringing the “blue screen of death” to a lot of organisations.

0920: American Airlines blame CrowdStrike. AA is the biggest carrier by number of passengers, with an average of 578,000 passengers a day. The airline say that they are working with the cybersecurity firm to deliver a solution as quickly as possible.

0924: Barcodes are not working at Gatwick Airport. Boarding passes are being registered manually. Flights are still taking off but delays are expected due to an air traffic control backlog.

0931: United Airlines have blamed ‘third-party software’.

“A third party software outage is impacting computer systems worldwide, including at United,” a spokesperson said.

“While we work to restore those systems, we are holding all aircraft at their departure airports. Flights already airborne are continuing to their destinations.”

0935: Delhi Airport has gone manual. A whiteboard has been used to inform passengers of their departures and gate numbers. Baggage tags were also printed blank – customers had to fill them in manually. The airport is open but processes are slower.

0949: German airlines Lufthansa and SAS Airline report disruption to booking systems. SAS Airline is still operational.

Prague Airport report disruption; they have issues with their check-in service. This issue is also being experienced by German carrier Eurowings.

In Northern Ireland, Belfast International say that the airport is affected, but flights remain operational.

Switzerland’s largest airport, Zurich, have forbade planes from landing.

0951: Dutch Airline KLM has said that flight handling is “impossible.” They have had to suspend most operations.

“We realise that this is very inconvenient for our customers and staff, particularly in the midst of the summer holiday season,” it says.

1008: UK rail operators affected:

• Avanti West Coast
• c2c
• Gatwick Express
• Great Northern
• Great Western Railway
• Hull Trains
• London Northwestern Railway
• Lumo
• Merseyrail
• Northern
• Southern
• Thameslink
• Transport for Wales
• TransPennine Express
• West Midlands Railway

Trains are still running.

1001: Disruption reported at Luton Airport. IT systems down across departments.

So far, according to Cirium (LNRS Data Company), over 1000 flights have been cancelled globally. This Friday (19th July 2024), was set to be the busiest day for UK flight departures, with over 3214 departures. 

1014: Mallorca Airport facing disruption with three hour queues. 

1033: Swiss cybersecurity office (The Swiss Federal Office for Cybersecurity) blames CrowdStrike when addressing Reuters news agency. Their role is still unconfirmed. 

1048: Microsoft update:

“We’re aware of an issue affecting Windows devices due to an update from a third-party software platform. We anticipate a resolution is forthcoming.”

1051: CrowdStrike issue this statement:

“Crowdstrike is actively working with customers impacted by a defect found in a single content update for Windows hosts.

“Mac and Linux hosts are not impacted. This is not a security incident or cyberattack.

“The issue has been identified, isolated and a fix has been deployed.

“We refer customers to the support portal for the latest updates and will continue to provide complete and continuous updates on our website.

“We further recommend organisations ensure they’re communicating with CrowdStrike representatives through official channels.

“Our team is fully mobilised to ensure the security and stability of CrowdStrike customers.”

1058: Rail Delivery Group release this statement:

“Most trains are still running across the country and rail staff will be able to provide the latest information to customers in person. You can also visit the National Rail Enquiries website for the latest updates.”

1115: CrowdStrike have lost a fifth of its pre-market trading value in the U.S. If this is confirmed when U.S. stock market trading later opens, it will mean a $16 billion loss in overnight trading. 

1118: American Airlines is now operating again. 

They have been able to “safely re-establish” its operation following a “technical issue with a vendor”.

“We apologise to our customers for the inconvenience.”

1129: The UK Government have said that they are working with groups affected by the crisis. Cabinet Minister Pat McFadden said that Cobra are planning a response. Ministers are working in their sectors and industries.

1143: Luton Airport have opened check-ins, but they are being processed manually.

1148: According to Cirium, these are the number of flights cancelled in each country:

• US: 512 flights cancelled so far
• Germany: 92
• India: 56
• Italy: 45
• Canada: 21

1149: Delta flights are still paused. Delta is the second biggest carrier by passenger numbers.

“All Delta flights are paused as we work through a vendor technology issue.

“Any customers whose flights are impacted will be notified by Delta via the Fly Delta app and text message.

“Customers should use the Fly Delta app for updates. We apologise for the inconvenience as our teams work through this issue. Reports indicated that other airlines may also be impacted.”

1157: Turkish Airlines have announced the cancellation of some flights. The LCC AJet is also experiencing difficulty. 

1205: Microsoft have said that issue has been fixed but that there will still be some impact in the near future.

1207: Edinburgh Airport are no longer accepting incoming flights. Passengers who have had flights cancelled are being asked to leave the airport.

1218: Cirium data shows that 52 flights departing the UK so far have been cancelled, with a further 51 inbound arrivals cancelled.

1301: CrowdStrike boss George Kurtz, said on an NBC interview:

“It could be some time for some systems that just automatically won’t recover, but it is our mission… to make sure every customer is fully recovered.”

1353: Jetstar have cancelled flights in Brisbane due to the disruption. They have reportedly struggled with check-ins.

1524: According to Cirium, the total number of flights cancelled today stands at 3343 globally. This is 3% of all scheduled services. 

Cirium have estimated that the total number of flights cancelled on Friday 19th July is 6855, equating to 6.2% of all scheduled flights. 207 flights were cancelled departing UK airports – 6.7% of all scheduled departures. A further 201 inbound arrivals were cancelled.

Want know more about cybersecurity in the airport industry? Click here to read more.