A global tech meltdown has triggered travel mayhem across Britain, with flights grounded, airport check-ins cancelled and trains axed.
The mass Microsoft outage has sparked chaos around the globe, with TV channels knocked out and banks taken offline.
The IT pandemonium has led to huge queues at airports across the UK, with holidaymakers at Gatwick reportedly unable to check in.
It comes as Britain braces for its busiest day for air travel since before the Covid pandemic, with millions of families preparing for their summer breaks.
Meanwhile Britain’s biggest train country told passengers to expect delays due to ‘widespread IT issues’, while Ryanair warned of ‘potential disruption’.
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Holidaymakers at Gatwick Airport have been left stranded and unable to check-in following the Microsoft outage
Huge queues in Gatwick have formed as the IT meltdown continues to cause travel mayhem
The IT shutdown has also led to trains being delayed across the UK (file pictured)
Govia Thameslink Railway, the parent company of Southern, Thameslink, Gatwick Express and Great Northern, issued the alert across social media.
It read: ‘We are currently experiencing widespread IT issues across our entire network.
‘Our IT teams are actively investigating to determine the root cause of the problem.
‘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.
‘We will provide additional updates when we can. In the meantime, please regularly check your journey before you travel.’
Gatwick Express also warned travellers they are ‘currently experiencing widespread IT issues’ across the entire network.
Customers at Gatwick have reported long queues inside the airport following the IT outage
Pictured are people queuing at the Wizzair desk in Gatwick Airport amid the travel mayhem
Meanwhile, South Western Railway confirmed there will be major disruption for their passengers too.
‘Due to IT issues across the South Western Railway network all ticket vending machines are currently non operational,’ a message read on X.
‘Please purchase your ticket online, on the train or speak to a member of station staff.
‘We apologise for the inconvenience this causes.’
A photo posted on social media shows long queues at Luton Airport.
The image, posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, is accompanied by a caption stating that a ‘system failure’ is causing ‘massive queues’.
Edinburgh Airport has also been hit by the IT outage, with officials warning jetsetters the meltdown is causing longer waiting times.
A spokesperson said: ‘An IT system outage means wait times are longer than usual at the airport.
‘This outage is affecting many other businesses, including airports.
‘Work is ongoing to resolve this and our teams are on hand to assist where we can. Passengers are thanked for their patience.’
Ryanair has also seemingly been hit with the issue after it posted on its website urging passengers to arrive at airports three hours early blaming a ‘third party IT issue, which is outside Ryanair’s control and affect all airlines operating across the network’.
Passengers at Gatwick Airport as a massive Microsoft outage caused chaos in the aviation sector
Sky News has gone off air, as the TV channel appears to be hit with ongoing technical issues
Microsoft users around the world have taken to social media to express their confusion at their computers shutting down
UK Sky Sports Presenter Jacquie Beltrao posted on X: ‘We’re obviously not on air – we’re trying @SkyNews Breakfast’
In a statement, the firm said: ‘Potential disruptions across the network (Fri 19 July) due to a global 3rd party system outage.
‘Affected passengers will be notified and any passengers travelling across the network on Fri 19 July should check their Ryanair app for the latest updates on their flight.
‘We advise passengers to arrive at the airport 3 hours in advance of their flight to avoid any disruptions.
‘We regret any inconvenience caused to passengers by this 3rd party IT issue, which is outside of Ryanair’s control and affects all airlines operating across the network.’
Manchester Airport has said the Microsoft meltdown is only affecting Swissport, which handles some ground work for a few airlines.
Holidaymakers are still being checked-in manually which means delays for those travelling on flights supplied by Swissport.
A Manchester Airport spokesman confirmed passengers don’t need to change their travel arrangements and ‘we don’t want people thinking they need to come to the airport earlier because that can cause overcrowding’.
US cyber security company CrowdStrike has admitted to being responsible for the error, as they report on their website they are ‘working on it’.
Sky News viewers were left with a static message on their TVs apologising for the ‘disruption’ to the service at 6am when broadcasting was meant to begin.
It read: ‘We apologise for the interuption to this broadcast. We hope to restore the transmission of Sky News shortly.’
The issue is impacting companies globally with online reports that Australia, New Zealand, India, Japan, the US and the UK have all been effected.
While in the US emergency services lines are reportedly down in Alaska, Arizona, Indiana, Minnesota, New Hampshire and Ohio.
Microsoft has posted on its social media account that is was ‘investigating an issue impacting users ability to access various Microsoft 365 apps and services’.
Microsoft users around the world have taken to social media to express their frustration and confusion at their computers also shutting down.
Sky Sports Presenter Jacquie Beltrao has posted on X saying: ‘We’re obviously not on air – we’re trying @SkyNews Breakfast.’
This has also lead to travel chaos as passengers attempting to board flights have been unable to check in due to the technical issues.
American Airlines was forced to ground its flights this morning due to a communication issue, according to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration’s status page.
