REDMOND, USA – A massive IT glitch caused by a problem with Microsoft cloud computing services early Friday, July 19, 2024 has disrupted major airlines, media organisations, businesses, and police forces around the world.
Flights have been grounded in several countries, and stores and broadcasters in multiple regions went offline as the outage affected Windows PCs.
Carriers including American Airlines, Delta Airlines, and United Airlines all issued ground stops on Friday morning citing communication issues.
Delta ordered a “global ground stop,” according to Rep. Eric Swalwell, a member of the House subcommittee on cybersecurity.
In Europe, Berlin’s Brandenburg Airport reported delays in passenger check-in “because of a technical fault,” and Aena, which manages 46 airports in Spain, warned that “an incident in the computer system” could cause delays.
Sydney Airport, one of Australia’s largest, also reported delays.
Paris’s airport authority stated that while its systems were not affected ahead of next week’s Olympic Games opening ceremony, “this situation has an impact on the operations of airlines at Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Paris-Orly airports: delays in check-in, delays and temporary suspension of some flights,” according to the Associated Press.
Train operators in the United Kingdom blamed IT outages for cancellations Friday morning, and the London Stock Exchange cited a “3rd party global technical issue” for stopping its regulatory news service from posting any new items.
In the U.S., Alaska State Troopers updated on Facebook just before 2.20 a.m. that 911 and non-emergency phone numbers across the state were not working “due to a nationwide technology-related outage.”
Users reported seeing a blue screen when attempting to start their computers. The glitch also disrupted supermarket self-service checkouts and countless websites.
Microsoft stated that the problem with its Azure Service and Microsoft 365 apps, including services such as the videoconferencing app Teams, was fixed early Friday.
However, companies across the U.S. and Europe continued to report problems. The company noted, “a small subset of services is still experiencing residual impact.”
The glitch has affected news outlets, including NBC News. Sky News, NBC News’ British partner broadcaster, was temporarily unable to air live news.
“Sky News have not been able to broadcast live TV this morning, currently telling viewers that we apologise for the interruption. Much of our news report is still available online, and we are working hard to restore all services,” Sky News executive chairman David Rhodes said on X.
Broadcasters in Australia also reported issues. The country’s national cyber security coordinator Michelle McGuinness stated on X that the problem did not appear to be the result of a cyberattack.
