A major IT outage affecting the Windows operating system has caused widespread disruption to businesses and services around the world. Cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike acknowledged Friday that a defective software update was responsible for the issue.
Thousands of workers were unable to access computers, while sectors from finance to healthcare were significantly impacted.
Airlines Grounded
The aviation industry was among the hardest hit. Numerous airlines, including Vueling, KLM, Ryanair, American Airlines, Delta, United, Singapore Airlines, Turkish Airlines, Qantas, and Virgin Australia, experienced disruptions. Many flights were grounded or delayed due to issues with check-in and booking systems.
Amsterdam’s Schiphol, London’s Gatwick and Stansted, Tokyo-Narita, Delhi, and Dublin airports reported long queues as a result. Some airlines resorted to issuing handwritten tickets due to printing problems.
Broadcasting and Financial Services Hit by IT Outage
The media sector was also affected. Sky News experienced a broadcast interruption, and the RNS news service was unavailable, preventing news from being published on the London Stock Exchange website. Other broadcasters, including CBBC, CNEWS, TF1, and RTL, encountered technical difficulties.
Healthcare and Retail Disrupted
The outage impacted healthcare services, with the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) and hospitals in Germany facing disruptions. The EMIS medical computer system, used by many GP practices, was down, affecting appointments and patient records.
Retailers also felt the impact of the IT Outage. Some UK supermarkets, including Morrison’s and Waitrose, accepted only cash payments due to system failures. Australia’s Woolworths also experienced issues.
Train Services Affected
Train services in the UK were disrupted by widespread IT problems, affecting operators such as Southern, Thameslink, Gatwick Express, and Great Northern.
Egypt Unaffected
While the outage caused chaos globally, Egypt’s Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Minister of Communication confirmed that the country’s services were unaffected by the global IT outage. Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly directed the formation of a crisis unit to assess potential impacts.
CrowdStrike said a fix had been deployed, and the issue was contained. Microsoft confirmed the company was communicating directly with clients.
As of Friday afternoon, some services were beginning to recover, but the full extent of the global disruption and its economic impact is still being assessed.
