A massive Microsoft IT outage sent shockwaves across Europe on Friday, crippling airports, airlines, businesses, media outlets, and stock exchanges. The glitch caused widespread disruptions, with many flights delayed or cancelled, and passengers scrambling to find alternative ways to travel.
The Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam was among the first to report issues, posting on social media: "There is currently a global system failure." The airport's statement added that the disruption was affecting flights to and from Schiphol, with passengers advised to contact their airlines for information.
Spain's 46-airport airline AENA also confirmed the issue, saying: "The global technical incident is affecting, above all, billing and passenger information points, but some systems are already being set up on a contingency basis." The airline stressed that it was working closely with all parties involved to resolve the issue.
Vueling Airlines from Spain posted a statement on social media: "We inform you that due to a global computer systems outage, our flight operations could be altered." The airline assured passengers that they were working to minimize the impact on their clients and would inform them via email if their flights were affected.
London Gatwick LGW airport in the UK was also affected by the Microsoft outage. In a statement, the airport said: "We are affected by the global Microsoft issues, so passengers may experience some delays while checking in and passing through security." However, the airport advised passengers to still arrive at their normal check-in time and apologized for any inconvenience caused.
Irish airline Ryanair confirmed that they were experiencing disruptions across their network due to the global IT outage. The airline advised passengers to arrive at the airport at least three hours before their scheduled departure time.
The extent of the outage's impact on businesses and media outlets was unclear, but it was reported that stock exchanges were also affected. The cause of the Microsoft outage remains unknown at this time.
Passengers were left stranded or stuck in limbo as they waited for updates on their flights. With no clear timeline for resolution in sight, many were forced to rely on social media and airline websites for information.
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