Microsoft Global Technology Outage Disrupts Flights, Banks, and Media Worldwide

A major global technology outage on Friday disrupted flights, bank operations, and media broadcasts, showcasing the heavy reliance on software from a few providers.The issue, affecting Microsoft 365 apps and services, was not a cyberattack, according to cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike.

Despite Microsoft’s efforts to fix the problem, disruptions escalated, impacting services from Visa, ADT Security, and Amazon, along with airlines like American Airlines and Delta.

In Australia, telecommunications providers, banks, and media outlets faced significant disruptions, with similar reports from the UK, Europe, India, and New Zealand.

Microsoft 365 reported working on rerouting traffic to alternate systems to alleviate the impact. CrowdStrike identified the problem as a defect in a content update for Windows hosts, which was isolated and resolved.

The outage affected various sectors globally. In the US, airlines like United and Delta were grounded, causing delays and inconvenience at airports like Los Angeles International.

The UK saw disruptions across airlines, railways, and TV stations, including Ryanair and Sky News. Australian airports experienced long lines and manual check-ins, while New Zealand banks reported service outages.

Globally, hospitals in Britain and Germany faced issues, and several National Health Service practices in England lost access to patient records. In South Africa, major banks experienced service disruptions.

As the outage’s impact spread, Microsoft continued efforts to restore services, while the global dependency on a few tech providers was starkly highlighted.

Kenya Faces IT Outage Disrupting Airline Operations

Kenya is the latest country hit by a global IT outage, impacting airlines similarly to the US and Australia. The outage has disrupted online booking systems, prompting airlines to switch to manual bookings to accommodate customers.

“We are experiencing a major system outage across all our stations and website due to a global system downtime. Please bear with us as we serve you through manual processes, which may delay our services. Our teams are working to rectify the issue, and we will share an update once this is resolved.

“We apologize for the inconvenience caused and thank you for your patience,” read the statement in part.