CHAOS erupted across the globe this morning as a Microsoft crash wreaked havoc on health, travel, banking and supermarket services.
Major airports, airlines, railways, GPs surgeries and retail giants have been hit by the CrowdStrike issue that sparked international disruption.
Television channels, banks, GPs and supermarkets around the world have been rocked by the chaos.
Airports in the UK, Australia, Spain, Amsterdam, Germany, India, and the United States have so far been affected.
Cybersecurity software firm CrowdStrike say they have identified the issue behind the global outage as a flawed anti-viral update.
In a statement on social media, CrowdStrike said the global IT outage was “not a security incident or cyberattack”, adding: “The issue has been identified, isolated and a fix has been deployed”.
NHS GP surgeries have confirmed they are now unable to access patient records or book appointments.
Practices have taken to social media to report they cannot access the EMIS Web system.
EMIS Web is the most widely used clinical system for primary care in the UK.
The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) also confirmed the IT outage is disrupting community pharmacies.
The Wilmslow Health Centre in Cheshire confirmed their system was down.
Earlier, the Liberal Democrats were calling for a COBRA meeting.
This stands for Cabinet Office Briefing Room A – a set of rooms where government meets during emergencies.
As reported by Sky News, it is understood these meetings have taken place insofar as official level meetings being in one of the COBRA rooms.
Pat McFadden wrote on X: “Many people are being affected by today’s IT outages impacting services across the country and globally.
“Ministers are working with their sectors and respective industries on the issue.
“I am in close contact with teams coordinating our response through the COBR response system.”
Meanwhile, Solihull Healthcare Partnership in the West Midlands said there is a “national issue” with EMIS Web and they are having trouble making appointments.
Central Lakes Medical Group in Ambleside, Cumbria reported patients would experience delays on phones until the issue is resolved.
Another post by Pocklington Group Practice in the East Riding of Yorkshire said appointments may need to be cancelled and rearranged.
Meanwhile, Hulme Hall Medical Group, based in Stockport, Manchester told patients they were unable to offer any appointments.
And, a GP practice in Oxfordshire has asked patients with “routine concerns” to wait until Monday amid an IT outage.
Elsewhere in the country, Grimethorpe Surgery in Barnsley reported it had no access to the clinical system, EMIS Web.
Another surgery in Putney, southwest London, is displaying an error message online to patients who attempt to book.
There are reports of two German hospitals that have been forced to cancel emergency operations this morning.
The hospitals, in the northern German cities of Luebeck and Kiel, cancelled all elective operations scheduled for today.
Meanwhile, the emergency department of the Scheper hospital in the Netherlands has closed due to a global computer failure.
The mega IT outage has also sparked mass train cancellations and delays for passengers travelling this morning.
Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) has urged passengers to expect disruption due to “widespread IT issues”
Meanwhile Gatwick Express warned travellers they are “currently experiencing widespread IT issues”.
And, South Western Railway revealed all ticket vending machines are currently non operational, urging customers to buy tickets online.
National Rail confirmed some train operators are unable to access driver diagrams at certain locations, leading to potential short-notice train cancellations
Another major railway company, TransPennine Express, told how some TPE stations and systems are having IT issues and suggested travellers buy tickets online.
So far there have been reports of New York City’s MTA system being affected by the IT crash.
Commuters on Washington D.C Metro trains are also facing delays.
Holidaymakers at major airports around the globe are fuming as they face lengthy queues and flight cancellations today.
Manchester Airport warned flyers there would be delays for those checking-in for Swissport flights.
And, London Gatwick confirmed passengers may experience some delays while checking in and passing through security.
However, they should still arrive for their normal check-in time, says the airport.
Popular budget airline Ryanair earlier advised passengers to arrive at the airport three hours in advance of their flight to avoid any disruptions.
Crowdstrike posted a message on their website which read: “Crowdstrike is aware of reports of crashes on Windows related the the Falcon Sensor.”
They say they are still “working on” fixing it but have since reverted back to the old system to prevent any further disruption.
Writing on X, formerly Twitter, CrowdStrike president George Kurtz said the problem was caused by a “defect found in a single content update for Windows hosts”.
He said: “This is not a security incident or cyber attack. The issue has been identified, isolated and a fix has been deployed.
“We refer customers to the support portal for the latest updates and will continue to provide complete and continuous updates on our website.
“We further recommend organisations ensure they’re communicating with CrowdStrike representatives through official channels.
“Our team is fully mobilised to ensure the security and stability of CrowdStrike customers.”
Mr Kurtz said the issue was not affecting Mac or Linux software.
Elsewhere in the UK, Edinburgh Airport reported wait times are longer than usual.
Stansted Airport in London also warned some airline check-in services have reverted to being done manually.
But main operational systems are still unaffected and flights are operating as normal.
Passengers have been supplied with water bottles at the London airport.
Meanwhile Luton Airport is also running manual systems which could spark some check-in delays.
One of the UKs busiest airports, Heathrow Airport, confirmed they are affected but are still flights operational.
A spokesperson advised checking with your airline on the latest journey information.
Airports in Australia, Spain, Amsterdam, Germany, India, and the United States have also been hit by the huge IT problem.
Aviation analytics company Cirium said 1,078 flights have been cancelled globally.
American Airlines passengers were devastated this morning when all flights were cancelled.
United and Delta also told flyers no flights would be taking off until the issue was resolved.
Even smaller airlines have been hit, with Allegiant Air, Spirit Airlines, Frontier and SunCountry grounding planes.
Meanwhile, frustrated travellers at San Francisco Airport have been reporting suspended flights.
Microsoft announced it is taking “mitigation actions” against the issues.
They said on X: “Our services are still seeing continuous improvements while we continue to take mitigation actions.
“We remain committed in treating this event with the highest priority and urgency while we continue to address the lingering impact for the remaining Microsoft 365 apps that are in a degraded state.”
Across the globe, Mumbai Airport revealed their check-in desks were shut down for IndiGo, Akasa and Spice Jet flights.
And, major Australian airline Qantas later kept all planes on the tarmac.
Schipol Airport in Amsterdam told holidaymakers that flights to and from the Netherlands are affected.
Elsewhere in Europe, the Spanish airport association AENA reported issues at 42 airports, including Ibiza and Palma Mallorca Airports.
Rome’s Fiumicino Airport also reported longer queue times
In Germany, Hamburg Airport and Berlin’s BER Airport were also rocked by the IT outage.
The Hague Airport in Rotterdam warned travellers they will be experiencing longer wait times.
Meanwhile, Narita International Airport in Narita, east of Tokyo urged travellers to be wary of check-in delays.
And, Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok reported longer queues, as Hong Kong Express Airways passengers have been delayed at Hong Kong International Airport.
In the UK, supermarket giant Morrisons has been affected, while some Waitrose and Co-ops are now only accepting cash.
Customers at Gails and Waterstones across the UK are also experiencing some issues.
Meanwhile Wetherspoons pub branches are declining card payments.
In Australia, Woolworths and Coles supermarkets reported self service machines not working.
Trains
Airports and airlines
Television Networks
Britain’s GPs
Global hospitals
Supermarkets and restaurants
Events
Banks and supermarkets in Australia including Beyond Bank Australia have also been experiencing issues this morning.
Various Microsoft services in Japan and New Zealand are also battling tech issues.
