Global Microsoft Outage Grounds Flights at Indian Airports

A worldwide Microsoft Azure outage has led to flight delays across India. Passengers are sharing their experiences with handwritten boarding passes as airlines scramble to manage disruptions. Authorities are implementing manual systems to restore operations and assure passengers of their safety.

A worldwide outage affecting Microsoft's cloud solutions has caused unexpected flight delays at airports across India. Passengers at various airports took to social media to share their experiences, posting images of handwritten boarding passes issued due to the disruption. Suvojit Mukherjee, a passenger at Deoghar Airport in Jharkhand, commented on platform X, saying, "Today's Microsoft / CrowdStrike outage has grounded most airports in India. Received my first handwritten boarding pass today. A stark reminder of the risks of digital dependency," along with a photo of his manual ticket.

Another traveler, Rachit, posted on X from Biju Patnaik Airport in Odisha, "Handwritten Boarding pass as worldwide Microsoft outage today!! Airlines reporting issues across airports and countries." Union Minister of Civil Aviation, Rammohan Naidu, assured travelers that his Ministry and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) are managing the situation using manual methods to minimize disruption.

Minister Naidu stated, "I have directed airport authorities and airlines to be compassionate and provide extra seating, water, and food for passengers affected by delays. We understand your concerns and are working tirelessly to ensure your safe and swift travel. Your patience and cooperation are greatly appreciated." Meanwhile, the Ministry of Civil Aviation along with AAI has put manual backup systems in place to maintain operational continuity. Passengers are advised to cooperate with airport staff during this period of disruption.

The Ministry's commitment to minimizing inconvenience and ensuring traveler well-being was emphasized by Aviation Minister Naidu. He stressed the importance of clear communication with passengers, stating, "We have instructed all airlines and airport authorities to keep passengers informed about their flight status and provide necessary assistance."

Additional measures include regular updates on flight statuses, increased support staff, and provision of extra amenities like seating, water, and food to ensure passenger comfort. Following Microsoft's report of disruptions in certain cloud services, the central government is in touch with Microsoft and its associates about the global outage.

All airlines in India reported that their systems were impacted by the ongoing Microsoft Azure outage. Flyers were advised to reach out to their respective airlines for updates. Indigo's cancellation list showed that approximately 190 flights had been canceled from 15:50 IST today to 05:20 IST Saturday.

Passengers can check the list of canceled flights on Indigo's website. Microsoft Azure, Microsoft's cloud computing platform, offers various services to individuals, companies, and governments. Details regarding the exact number of flights or passengers affected were not immediately available. Microsoft indicated they are investigating the issue impacting users' access to various Microsoft 365 apps and services.

"We're working on rerouting the impacted traffic to alternate systems to alleviate impact more quickly. Our services are seeing continuous improvements as we continue mitigation efforts," Microsoft said in its latest update. CrowdStrike, the security firm linked to the software update that caused the outage, stated that the issue has been isolated and a fix deployed.

George Kurtz, President and CEO of CrowdStrike, reassured customers that the issue was "not a security incident or cyberattack." "CrowdStrike is actively working with customers impacted by a defect found in a single content update for Windows hosts. Mac and Linux hosts are not impacted. This is not a security incident or cyberattack. The issue has been identified, isolated, and a fix has been deployed. We refer customers to the support portal for the latest updates and will continue to provide complete and continuous updates on our website. We recommend organizations ensure communication with CrowdStrike representatives through official channels. Our team is fully mobilized to ensure the security and stability of CrowdStrike customers," Kurtz said.

(With inputs from agencies.)