Microsoft server glitch disrupts airlines, businesses worldwide

HYDERABAD: A technical glitch in Microsoft's servers on Friday caused widespread disruptions for airlines, TV broadcasts, banking services, and numerous corporate operations globally. Airports worldwide experienced issues with check-ins and ticket bookings, leading to flight delays and cancellations.

In India, five airlines - IndiGo, SpiceJet, Akasa Air, Vistara, and Air India Express - reported disruptions to their booking, check-in, and flight update services. Passengers faced inconvenience at airports due to the technical snag.

The Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad has issued an advisory to passengers while confirming the impact. "Due to the global IT outage, services of airlines have been impacted. We are closely working with all our stakeholders to minimise the inconvenience to our flyers. You may please get in touch with the airline concerned for updates on your flight information. We thank you for your support and understanding," the RGIA authorities Tweeted on their official handle.

Reports of virus attacks emerged from corporate offices in Hyderabad and Bengaluru, with systems experiencing blue screens and automatic restarts. Several companies in Hyderabad advised employees to shut down their systems for two hours.

Globally, some Microsoft Windows users encountered the Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) on their laptops, leading to automatic restarts or shutdowns. Dell Technologies attributed the issue to a recent CrowdStrike update, a cybersecurity platform.

Microsoft acknowledged the problem, stating, "We are aware of the issue and have multiple teams engaged in resolving it. We have identified the root cause." The outage primarily affected users of Microsoft Azure, a cloud computing platform, and Microsoft 365 services, which include applications like Word, Excel, and Outlook.

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw confirmed on X that the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology was in contact with Microsoft and its partners. He assured that the cause of the outage had been identified, updates were issued for resolution, and the National Informatics Centre's network remained unaffected.