Global Tech Outage Paralyses Flights, Banks, Hospitals and Media Worldwide

A software outage grounded flights, disabled banking and hospital systems, and took media outlets off the air worldwide today, July 19, highlighting the global dependence on a few key technology providers.

Airports across the U.S., Europe, and Asia saw long lines as airlines lost access to check-in and booking systems at the peak of the summer travel season. In Australia, media outlets were off the air for hours amid severe telecommunications disruptions. Hospitals and doctors’ offices struggled with appointment systems, and banks in South Africa and New Zealand reported outages affecting payment systems, websites, and apps.

Despite delays affecting some athletes and spectators arriving in Paris for the Olympics, organisers confirmed that disruptions were limited and did not impact ticketing or the torch relay.

DownDetector, a service tracking user-reported internet disruptions, indicated that the outage affected airlines, payment platforms, and online shopping sites worldwide, seemingly linked to companies using Microsoft cloud-based services.

Cyber expert James Bore warned of significant harm due to the outage, particularly for critical systems. “There are going to be deaths because of this. It’s inevitable,” he stated, noting the dependency of hospitals and other essential services on these systems.

Microsoft 365, in a social media post, mentioned efforts to reroute impacted traffic to alternate systems, noting a positive trend in service restoration. The company, however, did not respond to requests for further comments.

CrowdStrike, in an emailed statement, confirmed active collaboration with customers affected by the faulty update. “This is not a security incident or cyberattack. The issue has been identified, isolated, and a fix has been deployed,” the company stated.

In the U.S., major airlines including United, American, Delta, and Allegiant were grounded. Similar disruptions affected airlines and railways in the U.K., with extended waiting times reported.

The Paris Olympics saw limited impact, though some delegations experienced delays. In Germany, Berlin-Brandenburg Airport halted flights for hours due to check-in issues, while Zurich and Hungarian airports faced disruptions.

Dutch carrier KLM suspended most operations, and Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport reported significant impact on flights during one of its busiest days of the year.

Australian airports experienced widespread issues, with lines growing as online check-in services and self-service booths were disabled, though flights continued to operate. Similar manual check-ins were reported in India, Hong Kong, Thailand, and Kenya.

In Australia, the outage severely impacted banks such as NAB, Commonwealth, and Bendigo, as well as airlines Virgin Australia and Qantas, and internet and phone providers like Telstra. National news outlets, including ABC and Sky News Australia, were off the air for hours, with some anchors broadcasting online from dark offices.

Hospitals in several countries faced operational challenges. Britain’s NHS reported issues at most doctors’ offices in England, affecting appointment and patient record systems. Some German hospitals canceled elective surgeries, while Israel saw disruptions in hospital and postal operations.

In South Africa, a major bank experienced nationwide service disruptions, and in New Zealand, banks ASB and Kiwibank faced similar issues.

The Baltic Hub in Gdansk, Poland, a major container port, also reported problems due to the global outage, highlighting the widespread and varied impact of the technological failure.