{"id":26595,"date":"2024-07-19T13:15:44","date_gmt":"2024-07-19T13:15:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/widespread-technology-outage-disrupts-flights-banks-media-outlets-and-companies-around-the-world\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T05:41:57","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T05:41:57","slug":"widespread-technology-outage-disrupts-flights-banks-media-outlets-and-companies-around-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/widespread-technology-outage-disrupts-flights-banks-media-outlets-and-companies-around-the-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Widespread technology outage disrupts flights, banks, media outlets and companies around the world"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Travelers
Travelers wait in Terminal 1 for check-in at Hamburg Airport, in Hamburg, Germany, Friday July 19, 2024. A widespread Microsoft outage disrupted flights, banks, media outlets and companies around the world on Friday. (Bodo Marks\/dpa via AP)<\/span>dur-i-syn<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

FRANKFURT, Germany \u2014 A global technology outage<\/a> grounded flights, knocked banks and hospital systems offline and media outlets off air on Friday in a massive disruption that affected companies and services around the world and highlighted dependence on software from a handful of providers.<\/p>\n

Cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike said that the issue believed to be behind the outage was not a security incident or cyberattack \u2014 and that a fix was on the way. The company said the problem occurred when it deployed a faulty update to computers running Microsoft Windows.<\/p>\n

But hours after the problem was first detected, the disarray continued \u2014 and escalated.<\/p>\n

Long lines formed at airports in the U.S., Europe and Asia as airlines lost access to check-in and booking services at a time when many travelers are heading away on summer vacations. News outlets in Australia \u2014 where telecommunications were severely affected \u2014 were pushed off air for hours. Hospitals and doctor’s offices had problems with their appointment systems, while banks in South Africa and New Zealand reported outages to their payment system or websites and apps.<\/p>\n

At Hong Kong\u2019s airport, Yvonne Lee, 24, said she only found out her flight to Phuket in Thailand was postponed to Saturday when she arrived at the airport, saying the way it was handled would \u201caffect the image of Hong Kong\u2019s airport very much.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her already short five-day trip would now have to be further shortened, she said.<\/p>\n

Some athletes and spectators descending on Paris ahead of the Olympics were delayed as was the arrival of their uniforms and accreditations, but Games organizers said disruptions were limited and didn’t affect ticketing or the torch relay.<\/p>\n

A disturbing reminder of vulnerability<\/strong><\/div>\n

\u201cThis is a very, very uncomfortable illustration of the fragility of the world\u2019s core internet infrastructure,\u201d said Ciaran Martin, a professor at Oxford University\u2019s Blavatnik School of Government and former Head of Britain\u2019s National Cyber Security Centre.<\/p>\n

DownDectector, which tracks user-reported disruptions to internet services, recorded that airlines, payment platforms and online shopping websites across the world were affected \u2014 although the disruption appeared piecemeal and was apparently related to whether the companies used Microsoft cloud-based services.<\/p>\n

Cyber expert James Bore said real harm would be caused by the outage because systems we\u2019ve come to rely on at critical times are not going to be available. Hospitals, for example, will struggle to sort out appointments and those who need care may not get it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are going to be deaths because of this. It\u2019s inevitable,\u2019\u2019 Bore said. \u201cWe\u2019ve got so many systems tied up with this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Microsoft 365 posted on social media platform X<\/a> that the company was \u201cworking on rerouting the impacted traffic to alternate systems to alleviate impact\u201d and that they were \u201cobserving a positive trend in service availability.\u201d<\/p>\n

The company did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n

CrowdStrike said in an emailed statement that the company \u201cis actively working with customers impacted by a defect found in a single content update for Windows hosts.\u201d<\/p>\n

It said: \u201cThis is not a security incident or cyberattack. The issue has been identified, isolated and a fix has been deployed.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Austin, Texas-based company’s Nasdaq-traded shares were down nearly 15% in premarket trading early Friday.<\/p>\n

A recording playing on its customer service line said, \u201cCrowdStrike is aware of the reports of crashes on Microsoft ports related to the Falcon sensor,\u201d referring to one of its products used to block online attacks.<\/p>\n

Broadcasters go dark, surgeries delayed, \u2018blue screens of death\u2019<\/strong><\/div>\n

Meanwhile, governments, officials and companies across the world scrambled to respond.<\/p>\n

New Zealand’s acting prime minister, David Seymour, said on X<\/a> that officials in the country were \u201cmoving at pace to understand the potential impacts,\u201d adding that he had no information indicating it was a cybersecurity threat.<\/p>\n

The issue was causing \u201cinconvenience” for the public and businesses, he added.<\/p>\n

On the Milan stock exchange, the FTSE MIB index of blue-chip Italian stocks could not be compiled for an hour, though trading continued.<\/p>\n

Major delays reported at airports grew on Friday morning, with most attributing the problems in booking systems of individual airlines.<\/p>\n

In the U.S., the FAA said the airlines United, American, Delta and Allegiant had all been grounded.<\/p>\n

Airlines and railways in the U.K. were also affected, with longer than usual waiting times.<\/p>\n

In Germany, Berlin-Brandenburg Airport halted flights for several hours due to difficulties in checking in passengers, while landings at Zurich airport were suspended and flights in Hungary, Italy and Turkey disrupted.<\/p>\n

The Dutch carrier KLM said it had been \u201cforced to suspend most\u201d of its operations.<\/p>\n

Amsterdam\u2019s Schiphol Airport warned that the outage was having a \u201cmajor impact on flights\u201d to and from the busy European hub. The chaotic morning coincided with one of the busiest days of the year for Schiphol.<\/p>\n

Widespread problems were reported at Australian airports, where lines grew and some passengers were stranded as online check-in services and self-service booths were disabled \u2014 although flights were still operating.<\/p>\n

In India, Hong Kong and Thailand, many airlines were forced to manually check in passengers. An airline in Kenya was also reporting disruption.<\/p>\n

Australia bears brunt of outages in Asia<\/strong><\/div>\n

While the outages were being experienced worldwide, Australia appeared to be severely affected by the issue. Disruption reported on the site DownDetector included the banks NAB, Commonwealth and Bendigo, and the airlines Virgin Australia and Qantas, as well as internet and phone providers such as Telstra.<\/p>\n

National news outlets \u2014 including public broadcaster ABC and Sky News Australia \u2014 were unable to broadcast on their TV and radio channels for hours. Some news anchors went on air online from dark offices, in front of computers showing \u201cblue screens of death.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hospitals in several countries also reported problems.<\/p>\n

Britain\u2019s National Health Service said the outage caused problems at most doctors\u2019 offices across England. NHS England said in a statement said the glitch was affecting the appointment and patient record system used across the public health system.<\/p>\n

Some hospitals in northern Germany canceled all elective surgery scheduled for Friday, but emergency care was unaffected.<\/p>\n

Israel said its hospitals and post office operations were disrupted.<\/p>\n

In South Africa, at least one major bank said it was experiencing nationwide service disruptions as customers reported they were unable to make payments using their bank cards in stores. The New Zealand banks ASB and Kiwibank said their services were down as well.<\/p>\n

Shipping was disrupted too: A major container hub in the Baltic port of Gdansk, Poland, the Baltic Hub, said it was battling problems resulting from the global system outage.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Kurtenbach reported from Bangkok and Graham-McLay from Wellington, New Zealand. Associated Press journalists around the world contributed.<\/p>\n

\"Travelers
Travelers wait for information in front of a departure board at Brussels International Airport in Brussels, Friday, July 19, 2024. A global technology outage grounded flights, knocked banks and hospital systems offline and media outlets off air on Friday in a massive disruption that affected companies and services around the world and highlighted dependence on software from a handful of providers. (AP Photo\/Harry Nakos)<\/span>dur-i-syn<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Numerous
Numerous passengers wait in front of a black display board at the capital's Berlin Brandenburg Airport, in Sch\u00c3\u00b6nefeld, Germany, Friday July 19, 2024, after a widespread technology outage disrupted flights, banks, media outlets and companies around the world. (Christoph Soeder\/dpa via AP)<\/span>dur-i-syn<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Travelers
Travelers at Los Angeles International Airport sleep in a jetway for a delayed United Airlines flight to Dulles International Airport due to a widespread global outage early Friday, July 19, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo\/Stefanie Dazio)<\/span>dur-i-syn<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Commuter
Commuter disembark a Great Northern railway train at Hunt's Cross station in Liverpool, England, amid reports of widespread IT outages affecting airlines, broadcasters and banks, Friday, July 19, 2024. (Peter Byrne\/PA via AP)<\/span>dur-i-syn<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Passengers
Passengers walk at Victoria train station, in London, amid reports of widespread IT outages affecting airlines, broadcasters and banks, Friday July 19, 2024. (Aaron Chown\/PA via AP)<\/span>dur-i-syn<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"This
This shows a general view of a Great Northern railway train at Hunt's Cross station in Liverpool, England amid reports of widespread IT outages affecting airlines, broadcasters and banks, Friday, July 19, 2024. (Peter Byrne\/PA via AP)<\/span>dur-i-syn<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The
The logo of Microsoft is seen outside it's French headquarters in Issy-les-Moulineaux, outside Paris, Monday May 13, 2024. Microsoft users worldwide, including banks and airlines, reported widespread outages on Friday, July 19, 2024 hours after the technology company said it was gradually fixing an issue affecting access to Microsoft 365 apps and services. (AP Photo\/Thibault Camus)<\/span>dur-i-syn<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"A
A traveler at Los Angeles International Airport sits in a jetway for a delayed United Airlines flight to Dulles International Airport due to a widespread global technology outage disrupting flights, banks, media outlets and companies around the world, Friday, July 19, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo\/Stefanie Dazio)<\/span>dur-i-syn<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Passengers
Passengers queue up at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport after a widespread global technology outage disrupted flights, banks, media outlets and companies around the world, in Mumbai, India, Friday, July 19, 2024. (AP Photo\/Rajanish Kakade)<\/span>dur-i-syn<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Passengers
Passengers wait at London Stansted Airport in Essex, amid reports of widespread IT outages affecting airlines, broadcasters and banks, Friday July 19, 2024. (Joe Giddens\/PA via AP)<\/span>dur-i-syn<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Travelers
Travelers wait in Terminal 1 for check-in at Hamburg Airport, in Hamburg, Germany, Friday July 19, 2024 as a widespread Microsoft outage disrupted flights, banks, media outlets and companies around the world on Friday. (Bodo Marks\/dpa via AP)<\/span>dur-i-syn<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Passengers
Passengers gather near check-in counters at Narita International Airport in Narita, east of Tokyo Friday, July 19, 2024, after a technology outage. A widespread Microsoft outage disrupted flights, banks, media outlets and companies around the world on Friday. (Kyodo News via AP)<\/span>dur-i-syn<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Travelers
Travelers stand in a line at Brussels International Airport in Brussels, Friday, July 19, 2024. A global technology outage grounded flights, knocked banks and hospital systems offline and media outlets off air on Friday in a massive disruption that affected companies and services around the world and highlighted dependence on software from a handful of providers. (AP Photo\/Harry Nakos)<\/span>dur-i-syn<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Travelers wait in Terminal 1 for check-in at Hamburg Airport, in Hamburg, Germany, Friday July 19, 2024. A widespread Microsoft outage disrupted flights, banks, media outlets and companies around the world on Friday. (Bodo Marks\/dpa via AP)dur-i-syn FRANKFURT, Germany \u2014 A global technology outage grounded flights, knocked banks and hospital systems offline and media outlets […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26596,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[28],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-26595","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-headlines"],"acf":[],"author_name":"Website Administrator","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26595","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26595"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26595\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":79404,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26595\/revisions\/79404"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26596"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26595"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26595"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26595"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=26595"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}