Updated | Delays expected at MIA after mass IT outage across the world

Updated at 10:15am with MIA statement

The Malta International Airport is expecting delayed flights following a major IT outage around the world.

“We regret to inform you that multiple airlines are currently experiencing network disruptions, affecting numerous airports worldwide, including Malta International Airport. As a result, delays are expected,” a spokesperson told MaltaToday.

Flights have been grounded at Sydney airport, while United Airlines has stopped flying, and even the London Stock Exchange group’s platform is experiencing outages.

Berlin airport reported delays to check-ins due to a “technical fault”. In Spain, an “incident” was reported at all of the country’s airports. 

In the UK, Sky News channel is off air due to the outages. The channel has not been able to broadcast live on Friday morning, the company’s executive chairman said.

In the United States, the Frontier group of airlines said late Thursday that a “major Microsoft technical outage” hit its operations temporarily, while its subsidiary SunCountry said a third-party vendor affected its booking and check-in facilities, without naming the company.

In Australia, a technical issue reportedly related to a US-based cybersecurity firm named CrowdStrike, caused Microsoft laptops to glitch.

The global outage impacted a raft of Australian companies and government agencies, causing many laptops to attempt to restart and display a blue screen error message.

“Please be assured that we are working diligently to manage the situation with minimal disruption,” the MIA spokesperson told this newspaper. “For the most current updates on the status of your flight, we kindly request you to visit our website and review the flight schedule.”

The outage impacted telecoms firms, media websites, banks and airlines, and is believed to have impacted servers. The cause of the outage is believed to be due to a software update by CrowdStrike, which launched earlier this week.

Outages were recorded in the US and New Zealand ahead of the Australia-wide shut down, with Quantas flight check-ins reportedly affected, and TV channels ABC, SBS and Sky computer systems crashing and interrupting programming.

The tech giant Microsoft said it is taking “mitigation actions” after service issues after its outage started on Thursday evening. 

The company said it is investigating issues with cloud services in the US, and an issue impacting several of its apps and services. 

In the UK, A major train company warned passengers to expect disruption over “widespread IT issues”. All four of Govia Thameslink Railway’s brands – Southern, Thameslink, Gatwick Express and Great Northern – posted on social media: 

“We are currently experiencing widespread IT issues across our entire network… We are unable to access driver diagrams at certain locations, leading to potential short-notice cancellations, particularly on the Thameslink and Great Northern networks. 

“Additionally, other key systems, including our real-time customer information platforms, are also affected.”