Videos are circulating on social media of chaos at airports after a major IT outage linked to tech giant Microsoft and cybersecurity company CrowdStrike.
Footage and photos show huge crowds at airports, departure screens going blank, passengers being handed handwritten boarding passes and flights being diverted.
The Context
A global IT outage of Microsoft systems disrupted numerous services worldwide on Friday, with major impacts reported in the banking, airline, and media sectors.
Getty Images, Canva Stock
CrowdStrike’s CEO George Kurtz released a statement confirming that the company “is actively working with customers impacted by a defect 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 issue affecting a subset of customers.”
“We acknowledge the impact this can have on customers, and we are working to restore services for those still experiencing disruptions as quickly as possible.”
Stefanie Dazio/AP
Major U.S. airlines, including Delta, United and American Airlines grounded flights on Friday morning, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
A spokesperson for American Airlines told Newsweek: “We’re aware of a technical issue with CrowdStrike that is impacting multiple carries. 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 it is in contact with its airplanes which are currently in flight.
The airline Frontier announced issues on X, formerly Twitter, writing: “During this time booking, check-in, access to your boarding pass, and some flights may be impacted.”
What We Know
Footage shared on X, formerly Twitter, shows a crowded terminal at Los Angeles International Airport, along with blank screens.
There were also reports of a passengers being stranded in Russia after an Air India flight had to divert to Krasnoyarsk last night. A flight has now left from Mumbai to assist these passengers.
Newsweek has reached out to Air India for comment.
Long lines were seen at London Gatwick Airport, which issued a statement on X: “We are affected by the global Microsoft issues, so passengers may experience some delays while checking in and passing through security.”
Irish airline Ryanair directed Newsweek to a statement on its website which reads: “We’re currently experiencing disruption across the network due to a Global 3rd party IT outage, which is entirely out of our control. Booking and check-in are currently unavailable.”
Users on X have been sharing pictures of hand written boarding passes as the systems went down.
Departure screens were shown displaying error messages and going blank.
What’s Next
Today is set to be the busiest day for U.K. flights since 2019, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium. It is the last day of term for many schools in the country and many families will be making plans to head to the airport for their summer vacations.
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Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.