IT outage hits companies around the world as planes grounded and train services affected

Businesses including banks, airlines, telecommunications companies, TV and radio broadcasters, and supermarkets have been taken offline following a mass global outage. ..Read Full Article

Major US airlines including American Airlines, Delta Airlines and United Airlines have been grounded, while airports in Germany, Amsterdam and Spain are also reporting issues.

Passengers at Edinburgh Airport were unable to use automated boarding pass scanners and monitors at security displayed a message saying “server offline”, according to a Reuters witness.

The airport had reverted to checking boarding passes manually, the witness said.

Also in the UK, Southern, Thameslink, Gatwick Express and Great Northern – all four of Govia Thameslink Railway’s brands – said its services were experiencing widespread IT issues.

“We are unable to access driver diagrams at certain locations, leading to potential short-notice cancellations, particularly on the Thameslink and Great Northern networks,” the company said.

“Additionally, other key systems, including our real-time customer information platforms, are also affected.”

It comes as Microsoft said it was continuing to address the “lingering impact” of its 365 applications and services that are in a “degraded state” – it is unknown if this is the same issue affecting airports and train services across the globe.

The outage appears to be affecting Windows PCs globally, including Sky News in the UK which was not able to broadcast live TV on Friday morning.
Out-of-date prices showing at London Stock Exchange

The London Stock Exchange is among the businesses that have been affected by the global outage, Sky News’ business correspondent, Ian King, said.

A statement posted on the exchange’s website early said that a technical issue was being investigated with the publication of RNS – the exchange’s Regulatory News Service – announcements.

When trading began at 8am this morning, the exchange’s website was still showing prices from the close on Thursday evening and continues to do so.

The FTSE-100 opened 50 points lower – around 0.62% – at the open but no prices were available on the exchange’s website, King said.

Other major European stock indices have also opened to the downside this morning, with the DAX in Germany down by 0.55% half an hour into the session, while the CAC-40 in France and the MIB in Italy down by 0.45% apiece.

Users on the subreddit for cyber security firm Crowdstrike reported issues in India, the United States and New Zealand.