POWER OUTAGE: Global Situation Updates

Many businesses worldwide are experiencing power outages. Some of these are airlines and airports, while others are healthcare providers, broadcasters and online payment companies.

All times are GMT.

Bee 0758the BBC reported that flights at Sydney Airport had been grounded. The London Stock Exchange was also said to be in trouble.

Bee 0759 Microsoft reported that there was an outage.

0802: GTR (British railway company) reported that there were problems with flights being cancelled at short notice and delayed.

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

“We are working to resolve it as soon as possible. In the meantime, operations continue with manual systems,” the Spanish airport operator said.

0810: Sky News is no longer available in the UK.

0824: Departure boards are freezing and malfunctioning at Edinburgh Airport. They were showing customers outdated information; some passengers have now missed their flights. A fire alarm has been triggered, presumably due to a computer error. Edinburgh Airport says the problem will be fixed.

0846: Schiphol Airport has also been hit.

“The disruption has consequences for flights to and from Schiphol,” said a spokesperson. It is not yet clear how many flights will be affected.

0847: There are long queues at London Stansted, but flights are still said to be running.

“Our core operational systems have not been affected,” a spokesperson said, but “some payment terminals have been affected.”

0902: Christchurch International Airport is reporting a disruption. They are announcing that this may affect arrivals and departures.

0902: Cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike is mentioned in the situation. There is talk of a failed cybersecurity update, which is causing the “blue screen of death” for many organizations.

0920: American Airlines blames CrowdStrike. AA is the largest airline by passenger volume, with an average of 578,000 passengers per day. The airline says it is working with the cybersecurity firm to provide a fix as soon as possible.

0924: Barcodes do not work at Gatwick Airport. Boarding passes are recorded manually. Flights are still departing, but delays are expected due to a backlog at air traffic control.

0931: United Airlines blames ‘third-party software’.

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

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

0935: Delhi Airport has become manual. A whiteboard has been used to inform passengers of their departure 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 disruptions to booking systems. SAS Airline is still operational.

Prague Airport reports disruption; they are having problems with their check-in service. This problem also occurs at the German airline Eurowings.

In Northern Ireland, Belfast International reports that its airport has been hit but flights are still operating.

Switzerland’s largest airport, Zurich, has imposed a landing ban for aircraft.

0951: Dutch airline KLM has said flight handling is “impossible” and has had to suspend most operations.

“We realize that this is very inconvenient for our customers and employees, especially in the middle of the summer holidays,” it says.

1008: Affected British rail companies:

Trains are still running.

1001: Disruption has been reported at Luton Airport. IT systems across all departments are down.

According to Cirium (LNRS Data Company), more than 1,000 flights have been cancelled worldwide so far. This Friday (July 19, 2024) is set to be the busiest day for departures from the UK, with more than 3,214 departures.

1014: Mallorca Airport is experiencing disruptions, with queues of three hours.

1033: The Swiss cybersecurity agency (the Swiss Federal Office for Cybersecurity) blames CrowdStrike in a conversation with the Reuters news agency. Their role has not yet been confirmed.

1048: Microsoft update:

“We are aware of an issue affecting Windows devices due to a third-party software platform update. We expect a fix to be available soon.”

1051: CrowdStrike issued the following statement:

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

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

“The problem has been identified, isolated and a solution has been implemented.

“We refer customers to the support portal for the latest updates and continue to provide full and ongoing updates on our website.

“We further recommend that organizations ensure they communicate with CrowdStrike representatives through official channels.

“Our team is fully mobilized to ensure the safety and stability of CrowdStrike customers.”

1058: Rail Delivery Group publishes the following statement:

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

1115: CrowdStrike has lost a fifth of its pre-market trading value in the US. If confirmed when the US stock market opens later today, it will mean a loss of $16 billion in overnight trading.

1118: American Airlines is now flying again.

They were able to ‘safely restore’ its operation after a ‘technical issue with a supplier’.

“We apologize to our customers for the inconvenience.”

1129: The British government has said it is working with groups affected by the crisis. Cabinet minister Pat McFadden said Cobra is planning a response. Ministers are working in their sectors and industries.

1143: Luton Airport has opened its check-in desk, but it is being processed manually.

1148: According to Cirium, these are the number of canceled flights 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 largest airline by passenger numbers.

“All Delta flights are paused while we work through a technical issue with a supplier.

“Customers whose flights are affected will be notified by Delta via the Fly Delta app and a text message.

“Customers should use the Fly Delta app for updates. We apologize for any inconvenience while our teams resolve this issue. Reports indicate that other airlines may also be affected.”

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

1205: Microsoft has said the issue has been resolved, but there will still be some impact in the near future.

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

1218: Data from Cirium shows that 52 flights from the UK have been cancelled so far, with a further 51 flights to the UK cancelled.

1301: George Kurtz, the CEO of CrowdStrike, said in an interview with NBC:

“It may take some time for some systems to automatically recover, but our mission is to ensure every customer makes a full recovery.”

1353: Jetstar has cancelled flights in Brisbane due to the disruption, reportedly experiencing difficulties with check-in.

1524: According to Cirium, the total number of cancelled flights worldwide today stands at 3,343, which is 3% of all scheduled services.

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