LIVE | Microsoft global outage: Many systems partially up, says IT Minister Vaishnaw
IndiGo has cancelled around 200 flights, however, the number of delayed flights can't be quantified, source said
Airport and airline operations across the country were almost crippled on Friday (July 19) due to a Microsoft outage globally, leading to a complete chaos with IndiGo alone cancelling around 200 flights.
In addition to this, hundreds of flights were delayed by a considerable time across airlines' networks due to the outage, which started from 1040 am, according to sources.
As services like bookings, check-in and boarding moved to manual mode, taking longer than expected time and leading to long queues at airports, passengers, including those who were travelling due to some emergency reasons, were seen complaining about the lack of information about their flights and venting out ire on airline staff.
The web check-in feature, which remained temporarily unavailable for passengers across airports, led to further chaos.
"They are doing it manually so obviously it will take time. They are taking about 30-40 minutes to process a passenger's ticket. How will they do it for all, They don't have a reply," said a passenger.
200 flights cancelled
IndiGo has cancelled around 200 flights, however, the number of delayed flights can't be quantified, said a source.
"The Microsoft/CrowdStrike outage has taken down most airports in India. I got my first hand-written boarding pass today," said IndiGo passenger Akshay Kothari in a post on X displaying his manual boarding pass.
According to preliminary data put out by aviation analytics firm Cirium on the global IT disruption in the afternoon, 56 flights were cancelled out of 3,652 flights scheduled from Indian destinations. This does not include inbound flights to India.
Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu assured the passengers that the ministry and Airports Authority of India (AAI) are actively managing the situation using manual methods to ensure minimal disruption.
"We have instructed all airlines and airport authorities to keep passengers informed about their flight status and provide necessary assistance," Naidu said.
What IT minister Vaishnaw said
Union Electronics and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that the ministry is in touch with Microsoft regarding the global outage.
"MEITY is in touch with Microsoft and its associates regarding the global outage. The reason for this outage has been identified and updates have been released to resolve the issue.
"CERT is issuing a technical advisory. NIC network is not affected," Vaishnaw posted on his X handle.
Later, in the evening he said, "MEITY is continually in touch with Microsoft, which in turn is actively working with impacted entities. In addition, CERT-In is coordinating with CISOs of critical infrastructure entities. All impacted entities are working to bring up their systems. In many cases, systems are partially up."
(With agency inputs)
Live Updates
- 19 July 2024 9:30 AM GMT
Manual check-in initiated at Bengaluru airport
Indigo, Air India Express, SpiceJet and Akasa at Bengaluru airport began checking in passengers manually on Friday, issuing handwritten boarding passes, after a global Microsoft outage led to the Navitaire Departure Control System stalling.
Passengers at the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) in Bengaluru had a harrowing time following the disruption in flight services and were seen anxiously waiting for their delayed flights. The lounge of the KIA was overcrowded due to the disruption in flight services.
“A global outage with the Navitaire Departure Control System (NDCS) has been affecting operations of some airlines across their network, including BLR Airport since 10.40 IST on July 19, 2024,” a Bangalore International Airport Limited spokesperson said in a statement.
Indigo, Akasa, and SpiceJet in Terminal-1 and Air India Express in Terminal-2 are among the affected airlines, BIAL said, adding that the Common Use Terminal Equipment (CUTE) and Common Use Self Service (CUSS) systems are also experiencing disruptions.
“In response to this situation, Indigo, Air India Express, SpiceJet and Akasa have taken proactive measures by initiating manual check-ins to ensure minimal disruption to passengers and flight schedules,” the spokesperson said.
- 19 July 2024 9:20 AM GMT
Hyderabad airport issues advisory, 23 flights cancelled
The Rajiv Gandhi International Airport here, run by GMR group, on Friday put out an advisory saying that due to the global IT outage, the services of some airlines have been impacted.
Airport sources said that as many as 23 flights -- 12 departures and 11 arrivals -- including Indigo's flights to Visakhapatnam, Tirupati, Ahmedabad and Bengaluru have been cancelled.
“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 airport said in a post on social media platform X.
- 19 July 2024 9:20 AM GMT
NSE says functioning normal; not impacted by Microsoft outage
Leading bourse National Stock Exchange (NSE) on Friday said it has not been impacted by the global outage of Microsoft systems amid reports of disruptions in functioning of stock exchanges in several countries.
"NSE and NCL (NSE Clearing Ltd) are working normal today," the exchange's spokesperson said in a statement.
- 19 July 2024 9:19 AM GMT
SBI says systems working fine, unaffected by Microsoft outage
State Bank of India (SBI) on Friday said its systems are unaffected by the Microsoft global outage.
"We are all fine," its chairman Dinesh Khara told PTI, when asked about the impact of the global outage.
