Europe woke up to technological chaos on Friday due to Microsoft suffering a massive, ongoing global IT outage, which is hitting airports, airlines, banks and broadcasters around the world. The problem appears to be with Microsoft 365 services and apps, which many companies and organizations rely on as part of their critical internet infrastructure. Perhaps most concerning of all, many states across the US have reported that their emergency 911 lines are down.
Microsoft said on X that it was aware of an issue impacting users ability to access 365 services late on Thursday. The latest update was issued around 4 A.M. ET/1 A.M. PT, when it said, “multiple services are continuing to see improvements in availability as our mitigation actions progress.” The company didn’t immediately respond to request for comment.
The outage, which also took down the London Stock Exchange, has been linked to a faulty update from cyber-security company CrowdStrike. The company handles the security of many Windows PCs an services around the world. The last time there was an internet outage this widespread was when a service called Fastly went down in 2021. It’s a reminder of how much of the internet is underpinned by shared infrastructure that leaves it vulnerable to widespread issues such as this.
Across the US, state troopers were reporting that 911 lines were down, starting in Alaska. Unconfirmed reports suggest that some lines in Minnesota, Arizona, Indiana Ohio and New Hampshire have also been hit. Many people were reporting issues through the Down Detector website, with outages appearing to peak around midnight PT/3 A.M. ET. If you live in one of the impacted states, check with your local state trooper or police department for alternative emergency numbers.
Many television channels around the world have been hit by the outage, with Sky News in the UK broadcasting from a phone after its studio equipment failed. The Paris Olympics organizing committee also said it had been impacted by the outage, but that it had contingency plans in place.
Flights grounded: Can I fly today?
Airports from New Zealand to the UK reported issues in the early hours of Friday morning, particularly with their scanning technology, which couldn’t register passengers’ boarding passes. In India, departures boards and boarding passes were being written by hand. Airlines, including Europe-wide budget airline Ryanair, were reporting issues with online check-in. Ryanair advised all passengers to arrive at least three hours early for their flights.
In the US, the Federal Aviation Authority has grounded some flights from American Airlines, United and Delta. Most airlines in the US haven’t gotten going for the day at the time of writing, but it might be wise for passengers hoping to fly from US airports today to check with your airlines also get there earlier than usual to allow extra time to check-in.
Delta said in a statement: “All Delta flights are paused as we work through a vendor technology issue. Any customers whose flights are impacted will be notified by Delta via the Fly Delta app and text message. Customers should use the Fly Delta app for updates.”
In a statement on X, American Airlines said: “We’re aware of a technology issue with a vendor that is impacting multiple carriers. American is working with the vendor to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.” It didn’t say how it expected flights today to be impacted.
United Airline issued a statement saying: “A third party software outage is impacting computer systems worldwide, including at United. While we work to restore those systems, we are holding all aircraft at their departure airports. Flights already airborne are continuing to their destinations.”
Dutch airline KLM said that the outage had made flight handling “impossible,” and until the issue was resolved it largely had to suspend operations.
This story is developing, please check back for more…
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