In pictures: Airport mayhem as global Microsoft issue leaves travellers stranded
The glitch has paralysed the aviation industry.
![Mandatory Credit: Photo by GJL/GTRES/Shutterstock (14593763a) Palma Mallorca Airport incident. Chaos At Majorca Airport Due To Worldwide Computer Systems Error, Majorca, Spain - 19 Jul 2024](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/SEI_213400177-3342.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=1024)
A catastrophic global computer outage has sparked travel chaos around the world, with dozens of airports and airlines reporting issues with their IT systems.
The issue – blamed on a security update from US cybersecurity service CrowdStrike – caused a problem with Microsoft Windows.
The glitch has paralysed the aviation industry, causing unprecedented disruption with long queues of passengers formed in airports in Spain, Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, Germany and more.
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In the UK, airports such as Heathrow, Gatwick and Edinburgh warning passengers of long delays and disruption.
Ryanair has had the highest number of reports, compared with Wizzair and British Airways, according to data from Downdetector.
![Passengers sit and wait at London Gatwick Airport, Crawley, east Sussex, following delays amid reports of widespread IT outages affecting airlines, broadcasters and banks. Picture date: Friday July 19, 2024. PA Photo. See PA story TECHNOLOGY Outage. Photo credit should read: Ben Bauer/PA Wire](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/SEI_213401502-77d9.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=1024)
![Passengers in the South Terminal at Gatwick Airport in Crawley, east Sussex, amid reports of widespread IT outages affecting airlines, broadcasters and banks. Picture date: Friday July 19, 2024. PA Photo. See PA story TECHNOLOGY Outage. Photo credit should read: Brian Lawless/PA Wire](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/SEI_213409824-9cc0.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=1024)
![SCHOENEFELD, GERMANY - JULY 19: Travellers wait at check-in counters at BER Berlin Airport during an IT outage that has disrupted airline services here and worldwide on July 19, 2024 in Schoenefeld, Germany. Businesses, travel companies and Microsoft users across the globe were among those affected by a tech outage today. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/SEI_213401968-c1da.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=1024)
Some airlines have resorted to issuing handwritten tickets, while some airports are relying on whiteboards to update passengers.
According to Crowdstrike, the problem was caused by a ‘defect’ in one of its software updates, and said the outage was not triggered by a security incident or cyber attack.
Microsoft has now said the underlying cause has been fixed, with some residual impact still affecting some Office 365 apps and services.
![Travelers walk by the departure board at Charles de Gaulle airport, Friday, July 19, 2024 in Roissy, north of Paris. With athletes and spectators arriving from around the world for the Paris Olympics, the city's airport authority said its computer systems were not affected by the outage, but that disruptions to airline operations was causing delays at two major Paris airports. (AP Photo/Thomas Padilla)](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/SEI_213413505-49e9.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=1024)
![Passengers in the South Terminal at Gatwick Airport in Crawley, east Sussex, amid reports of widespread IT outages affecting airlines, broadcasters and banks. Picture date: Friday July 19, 2024. PA Photo. See PA story TECHNOLOGY Outage. Photo credit should read: Aaron Chown/PA Wire](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/SEI_213408869-a237.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=1024)
![Passengers queue by the Ryanair check-in desk at London Stansted Airport in Essex, amid reports of widespread IT outages affecting airlines, broadcasters and banks. Picture date: Friday July 19, 2024. PA Photo. See PA story TECHNOLOGY Outage . Photo credit should read: Joe Giddens/PA Wire](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/SEI_213412631-e7cb.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=1024)
![A traveler uses her mobile phone to photograph a departures board displaying blue error screens, also known as the](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/SEI_213409282-292a.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=1024)
‘I don’t think it’s too early to call it: this will be the largest IT outage in history,’ said Troy Hunt, a prominent security consultant, in a social media post.
‘This is basically what we were all worried about with Y2K, except it’s actually happened this time.’
Elon Musk, Tesla chief executive, wrote on social media: ‘Biggest IT fail ever’ followed by “Microsoft” next to an angry emoji face.
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