New Delhi: Airlines services in the country were disrupted after the tech giant Microsoft experienced a serious outage. Around 200 flights have been cancelled across the country. IndiGo alone cancelled 192 services, including services from Kerala from Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi. Services from Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru to Thiruvananthapuram, and back have been cancelled, while services from Kochi to Bengaluru and Hyderabad and back have also been cancelled. The option for flight rebooking or refund was not available.
The Microsoft / CrowdStrike outage has taken down most airports in India. I got my first hand-written boarding pass today 😅 pic.twitter.com/xsdnq1Pgjr
— Akshay Kothari (@akothari) July 19, 2024
Microsoft users worldwide, including banks and airlines, reported widespread outages on Friday, hours after the technology company said it was gradually fixing an issue affecting access to Microsoft 365 apps and services.
The cause, exact nature and scale of the outage was unclear. Microsoft appeared to suggest in its X posts that the situation was improving, but escalating outages were still being reported around the world hours later. The glitch is causing users to see the Blue Screen of Death error messages, and there are widespread reports of disruptions in international airlines, banks and media outlets.
The check-in process at the airports is also facing delays. The Ministry of Civil Aviation has directed the airport authorities to provide adequate facilities for the passengers who have to wait at the airports. Union Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu has directed the provision of adequate drinking water, food, and seats to the passengers. Air services in countries, including the US, have also been affected.
News outlets in Australia reported that airlines, telecommunications providers, banks, and media broadcasters were disrupted as they lost access to computer systems. Some New Zealand banks said they were also offline.
Microsoft 365 posted on X that the company was “working on rerouting the impacted traffic to alternate systems to alleviate impact in a more expedient fashion” and that they were “observing a positive trend in service availability.”