Global IT outage causes chaos, disrupting airlines, banks, media, telecoms

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Australia’s National Cyber Security Coordinator says it is aware of ‘large-scale technical outage’.

A major IT outage has disrupted businesses and institutions in multiple countries, throwing airlines, government services, banks, supermarkets, telecoms and media outlets into chaos.

In the United States, major airlines Delta, United and American Airlines were grounded on Friday morning due to a communication issue, according to an update by the Federal Aviation Administration.

In Australia, flight information screens at Sydney airport went blank and self-service checkouts at supermarket chains Woolworths and Coles showed error messages.

Sydney airport said that flights were arriving and departing but that travellers should expect delays.

“We have activated our contingency plans and deployed additional staff to our terminals,” it said in a post on X.

Melbourne airport said that check-in procedures for some airlines had been affected.

“Passengers flying with these airlines this afternoon are advised to allow a little extra time to check-in. Please check with your airline for flight updates,” it said in a post on X.

Airports in the United Kingdom, Germany and Malaysia also reported disruptions to services.

Australia’s national broadcaster, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and Network Ten also confirmed that their systems had been affected.

Bendigo Bank said “online banking and some transactions” were being affected.

Australia’s National Cyber Security Coordinator said on Friday that it was aware of a “large-scale technical outage” affecting numerous business and services across the country.

“Our current information is this outage relates to a technical issue with a third-party software platform employed by affected companies,” the agency said in a statement.

“There is no information to suggest it is a cyber security incident. We continue to engage across key stakeholders.”

The cause of the outrage was not immediately clear, but it came hours after Microsoft said it was addressing an issue affecting access to Microsoft 365 apps and services.

IT security firm Crowdstrike said in a recorded phone message that it was aware of reports of Microsoft’s Windows operating system crashing.