SEVERAL airports have gone old school after a global IT outage caused chaos at airports.
Images of whiteboards used by employees at major airports have gone viral on X, formerly Twitter.
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More than 100 planes had to ground in the UK due to the Microsoft outage, while 1,300 were affected globally.
Both Dublin International Airport and Manchester Airport have resorted to using whiteboards as they try to get around technological issues.
A man trying to fly from India posted a photo of the X of a handwritten boarding pass given to him by staff.
He wrote in the caption, “Microsoft/CrowdStrike outage has shut down most of India’s airports. Got my first handwritten boarding pass today.”
So far, airports in the United Kingdom, Australia, Spain, Amsterdam, Germany, India and the United States have been affected.
Television channels, banks, health clinics and supermarkets around the world have been rocked by chaos – as schools across Britain close today for the summer holidays.
Meanwhile, schoolcomms – a communications app used by more than 3,000 schools – says it is among the many companies affected by the outage.
Major railways and supermarkets were also badly hit by the IT system outage.
Cybersecurity software company CrowdStrike says it has identified the issue behind the global outage as a failed antiviral update.
The company is allegedly used by Microsoft to handle various updates to its systems.
In a statement on social media, CrowdStrike said the global IT outage was “not a security incident or cyberattack,” adding: “The issue has been identified, isolated and a fix has been implemented.”
However, cybersecurity experts say it could be days before the outage ends.
Researcher Kevin Beaumont said: “As systems no longer start, affected systems will need to be started in ‘Safe Mode’ to remove the faulty update.
“This is very time consuming and will take organizations days to do this at scale. Essentially, we have one of the most impactful IT incidents in the world, caused by a cybersecurity vendor.”
Schools across Britain are in carnage today as a result of IT failure.
Furious parents shared on social media how the closure of school communications prevented them from adding money to their children’s accounts for school meals and drinks.
“Last day of school and I can’t add money to my child’s account because none of the @Schoolcomms apps and websites are working. And ideas on how he can buy a drink?”, wrote one mother.
Another wrote on
“And here I was hoping for a calm, peaceful day after this manic week.”
Meanwhile, the UK healthcare sector has also been hit, with NHS GP practices now unable to access patient records or book appointments.
Practices have taken to social media to report that they are unable to access the EMIS web system.
EMIS Web is the most widely used clinical system for primary care in the UK.
Meanwhile, the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) also confirmed that the IT system outage is disrupting community pharmacies.
Wilmslow Health Center in Cheshire wrote on X: “All practices in the UK using the NHS-commissioned GP IT system, EMIS, are currently locked out of their IT systems.
“This is beyond the control of GP surgeries. Please bear with us until our IT systems are back online.”
Global Services Affected by IT Outage
Trains
- Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) – urged passengers to expect disruption due to “widespread IT issues”
- Gatwick Express – warned travelers they are “currently experiencing widespread IT issues”
- South Western Railway – all ticket vending machines are not operational – buy tickets online
- National Rail – some rail operators are unable to access train drivers’ diagrams in certain locations, leading to possible train cancellations without notice
- TransPennine Express – some stations and TPE systems are having IT problems – buy tickets online
- New York City MTA system affected
- Washington DC Metro Trains – Delayed
Airports and airlines
- Manchester Airport – delays for those checking in to Swissport flights
- London Gatwick – passengers may experience some delays during check-in and security, but should still arrive at the normal check-in time
- Ryanair – advises passengers to arrive at the airport three hours before their flight to avoid disruption
- Edinburgh Airport – longer than normal waiting times
- Stansted Airport – some airline check-in services have returned to being done manually, but key operational systems are unaffected and flights continue to operate normally
- Luton Airport – running manual systems
- Heathrow Airport – affected but flights operational – check with the airline for the latest travel information
- Bristol Airport – flights canceled to Amsterdam
- American Airlines – all flights canceled
- United and Delta – no flights taking off
- Allegiant Air and Spirit Airlines – flights suspended
- Frontier and SunCountry – affected by outage
- San Francisco Airport – passengers reporting suspended flights
- Detroit Metro Airport – travelers sharing chaotic scenes of lines that continue to grow
- Mumbai Airport – Check-in counters closed for IndiGo, Akasa and Spice Jet flights
- Australian airline Qantas – flights suspended
- Schipol Airport in Amsterdam – flights to and from the Netherlands affected
- Spanish airport association AENA – reported problems at 42 airports
- Rome Fiumicino Airport affected
- Ibiza Airport – empty due to IT failure
- Hamburg Airport, Germany, affected
- BER Berlin Airport – Long queues
- The Hague Airport in Rotterdam – travelers facing longer waiting times
- Narita International Airport in Narita, east of Tokyo – check-in delays
- Palma Mallorca airport affected
- Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok – longest queues reported
- Hong Kong Express Airways passengers delayed at Hong Kong International Airport
Television networks
- Sky News – Friday’s breakfast show couldn’t air but is now back on screens with reporter reading printed notes
- Paramount Global channels, including MTV, VH1, CMT and Pop TV, went offline.
British GPs
- Wilmslow Health Center in Cheshire – no access to its IT systems
- Solihull Healthcare Partnership in the West Midlands – affected ability to book/see patients this morning
- Central Lakes Medical Group in Ambleside – stated there has been a “huge effect” and phone delays are expected
- Pocklington Group Practice in East Riding of Yorkshire – appointments needing to be canceled and rearranged
- Hulme Hall Medical Group in Stockport – unable to offer appointments
- Windrush Medical Practice in Witney, Oxfordshire – continuing as normal for urgent appointments but asking routine concerns to wait until Monday
- Grimethorpe Surgery in Barnsley – no access to clinical system, EMIS Web
- The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) confirmed that IT disruption is disrupting community pharmacies
- A surgery in Putney, South West London – Displaying an error message online for patients trying to book
Global Hospitals
- Two German hospitals were forced to cancel emergency operations
- Hospitals in the northern German cities of Luebeck and Kiel have canceled all elective operations scheduled for today.
Supermarkets and restaurants
- Morrisons are affected
- Some Waitrose and Co-op now only accept cash
- Gails and Waterstones facing some problems
- Wetherspoons pubs – accepting cash only
- Woolworths and Coles supermarkets in Australia – self-service machines not working
Events
- Manchester United ticket launch postponed – morning ticket launch will be postponed until midday and the website will remain unavailable
Banks and supermarkets in Australia, including Beyond Bank Australia, also faced problems this morning.
Several Microsoft services in Japan and New Zealand are also experiencing technology issues
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
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