Friday witnessed widespread travel chaos as a major outage in Microsoft’s cloud services rippled across the globe, disrupting operations at airlines, banks, and even the London Stock Exchange. The tech giant reported issues with its online offerings, triggering an unusual cascade of failures that impacted businesses from the United States all the way to Asia. Visuals have emerged from airports around the world as services were affected.
Microsoft Outage: Crazy Visuals Emerge From Airports
Our systems are currently impacted by a Microsoft outage, which is also affecting other companies. During this time booking, check-in, access to your boarding pass, and some flights may be impacted. We appreciate your patience.
— IndiGo (@IndiGo6E) July 19, 2024
The fallout from the Microsoft tech glitch was particularly severe for the aviation industry. Airlines across the world, including several in India, grappled with disruptions to check-in systems, reservations, and boarding passes. Passengers faced delays and cancellations as the crucial Microsoft Azure cloud platform, relied upon by numerous airlines for critical operations, became unavailable.
#ImportantUpdate: We are currently experiencing technical challenges with our service provider, affecting online services including booking, check-in, and manage booking functionalities. As a result, we have activated manual check-in and boarding processes across airports. We…
— SpiceJet (@flyspicejet) July 19, 2024
Delhi: Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI Airport) faced disruptions in several services due to the global IT outage. This included issues with check-in systems and boarding passes, leading to long queues and delays .
LIVE LOOK FROM AN AIRPORT IN INDIA
THEY HAVE A WHITE BOARD PROVIDING UPDATES ABOUT FLIGHTS
AS THE FLIGHT UPDATE SOFTWARE IS CURRENTLY DOWN AT THE AIRPORT https://t.co/xebSzKPlVD pic.twitter.com/8alryDNqLi
— GURGAVIN (@gurgavin) July 19, 2024
Flight Delayed, Boarding Pass Issue, Check in Issues faced by my father.. Even Gate Number is not listed anywhere. @Microsoft @IndiGo6E @DelhiAirport @aajtak @TheRedMike @TheLallantop @sanket pic.twitter.com/u6aDjmVQXK
— Manish Kumar (@humanish95) July 19, 2024
Mumbai: Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) also experienced disruptions, with Akasa Airlines specifically mentioning their online services being unavailable for check-in and booking .
माइक्रोसॉफ्ट सिक्योरिटी सिस्टम में तकनीकी खराबी के चलते मुंबई एयरपोर्ट पर कई यात्री सेवाएं प्रभावित हुई हैं। इससे स्पाइसजेट, इंडिगो, एयर इंडिया, अकासा समेत सभी एयरलाइंस की गतिविधियों पर असर पड़ा है।#MumbaiAirport #IndiGo #Akasa #SpiceJet #MicrosoftCrash #Microsoft #WindowsError pic.twitter.com/v3MCRi0ENu
— Vikash Tiwari (@imvikashtiwari) July 19, 2024
#BreakingNews माइक्रोसॉफ़्ट में गड़बड़ी का असर मुंबई एयरपोर्ट पर देखिए#Crowdstrike #Microsoft #MumbaiAirport pic.twitter.com/HISc5SltKJ
— AJEET JHA (@ajeetkumarjhaa) July 19, 2024
Bengaluru Airport reported IndiGo, Akasa, and SpiceJet in Terminal 1, along with Air India Express in Terminal 2, impacted by the outage. This likely resulted in similar issues with check-in processes and potentially caused delays.
Scenes at Bangalore airport, Microsoft crash is effecting travel too. @firstpost #Microsoft #Linux pic.twitter.com/ughjg3SCtm
— nav (@navi6699) July 19, 2024
Other Indian Airports including the ones in Kolkata, Chennai and Hyderabad also faced disruptions of services.
🚨 *Passenger Advisory* 🚨
Due to a global IT outage, flight operations are disrupted nationwide, affecting travel and flight schedules. Passengers are advised to contact their respective airlines for updates. Thank you for your understanding. pic.twitter.com/zBwMUTp0vL
— Kolkata Airport (@aaikolairport) July 19, 2024
#ChennaiAirport : Passenger Advisory on global IT outage @aaichnairport pic.twitter.com/uRQ93kRIoV
— தமிழ்Spaces (@TamilSpaces) July 19, 2024
Also Read: Video: Microsoft’s AI Model Makes Mona Lisa Rap; Netizens Say Minds Are Blown, Calls It Crazy
Effects Of Outage Seen Worldwide
Sydney Airport flight displays have all BSOD’d. #microsoft #crowdstrike pic.twitter.com/ZL9QwGdi1a
— techAU (@techAU) July 19, 2024
The disruption wasn’t limited to India. Reports emerged of major airlines like Delta and Allegiant experiencing communication issues, likely stemming from the Microsoft Azure outage. The situation even reached the United Kingdom, where the London Stock Exchange faced operational hurdles due to the tech glitch.
Amsterdam Airport atm pic.twitter.com/9aC6QwD01g
— Toripo (@Eth_Toripo) July 19, 2024
Stuck at London Gatwick airport. All flights grounded after Microsoft crashes worldwide.  pic.twitter.com/qNPkO8My0h
— Emran El-Badawi (@emrane) July 19, 2024
A Microsoft glitch causing widespread disruption in cloud services highlights the vulnerabilities exposed by our dependence on cloud-based technologies. The exact number of impacted flights remains unclear, but the incident serves as a wake-up call. Airlines and other businesses heavily dependeant on such platforms will likely re-evaluate their contingency plans to ensure smoother operations in the event of future outages.
Cover Image Courtesy: @humanish95, @gurgavin/X (formerly Twitter)
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