A widespread Microsoft outage has caused major disruptions for flights, banks, media outlets, and numerous companies worldwide on Friday, July 19.
The issues persisted for hours after Microsoft announced that it was gradually resolving the problem affecting access to Microsoft 365 apps and services. The incident underscored the far-reaching impact of the tech giant’s services on essential operations across various sectors.
DownDetector, a website that tracks user-reported internet outages, indicated a surge in service disruptions at Visa, ADT Security, and Amazon, as well as airlines such as American Airlines and Delta.
Australian news outlets reported widespread disruptions, with airlines, telecommunications providers, banks, and media broadcasters all affected. Several New Zealand banks also reported being offline, exacerbating the chaos.
Microsoft 365 took to X, formerly known as Twitter, stating that the company was “working on rerouting the impacted traffic to alternate systems to alleviate impact in a more expedient fashion” and noted a “positive trend in service availability.”
Despite these updates, Microsoft did not provide a detailed explanation for the outage and did not respond to requests for further comment.
Meanwhile, the aviation sector faced escalating disruptions. In the United States, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed that United, American, Delta, and Allegiant airlines were all grounded due to the outage.
In the United Kingdom, the ripple effects were felt across airlines, railways, and television stations. Budget airline Ryanair, train operators TransPennine Express and Govia Thameslink Railway, and broadcaster Sky News were among the affected.
Ryanair issued a statement saying, “We’re currently experiencing disruption across the network due to a global third-party IT outage which is out of our control. We advise all passengers to arrive at the airport at least three hours before their scheduled departure time.”
Airports Worldwide Face Massive Disruptions
Australian airports reported widespread problems, with long queues and stranded passengers as online check-in services and self-service booths were disabled. At Melbourne Airport, passengers faced more than an hour-long wait to check-in.
Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport also reported significant impacts, with the outage affecting flights to and from the busy European hub.
The incident occurred during one of the busiest travel periods of the year, at the start of many summer vacations.
In Germany, Berlin Airport announced delays in check-in processes due to technical faults, resulting in flight suspensions until 10 a.m. local time. German news agency dpa reported the disruptions without additional details.
Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci Airport experienced delays on some US-bound flights, though others remained unaffected.
Australian companies also grappled with the fallout. Outages were reported at banks such as NAB, Commonwealth, and Bendigo, as well as airlines Virgin Australia and Qantas. Internet and phone providers, including Telstra, faced similar issues.
Some Australian news outlets struggled to broadcast on TV and radio channels, with sudden shutdowns of Windows-based computers.
Reporters resorted to broadcasting live online from dimly lit offices, with computers displaying the infamous “blue screens of death.”
Retail operations were disrupted as well, with shoppers unable to make payments at some supermarkets and stores due to payment system outages.
In New Zealand, ASB and Kiwibank reported service outages, compounding the global impact.
A user on X shared a screenshot of an alert from Crowdstrike, indicating the company was aware of “reports of crashes on Windows hosts” related to its Falcon Sensor platform.
This alert, posted on a password-protected site, could not be independently verified. Crowdstrike did not respond to requests for comment.
The global scale of this outage highlighted the vulnerability of critical services to disruptions in major technology platforms, prompting calls for increased resilience and contingency planning in the digital age.
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