UK Hit by Global IT Outage: Major Disruptions Across Airports, Trains, and Organizations

The UK faced extensive delays and disruptions across airports, rail services, the London Stock Exchange, the National Health Service, and other key sectors due to a global IT outage. The issue, linked to an update from cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike and Microsoft, was resolved quickly, but caused significant operational chaos.

A global IT outage wreaked havoc across the UK on Friday, causing delays in airports, train services, and affecting major organizations like the London Stock Exchange and the National Health Service.

The disruption stemmed from a software update by CrowdStrike, in collaboration with Microsoft, that caused issues in Windows PCs worldwide. Both companies have since identified and fixed the problem, ruling out the possibility of a cyberattack.

Heathrow and Gatwick airports experienced delays and implemented contingency plans, while the London Stock Exchange worked to resolve issues with its Regulatory News Service. The National Health Service also faced disruptions, particularly in general practitioner surgeries and radiotherapy treatments. UK government ministers coordinated responses through the emergency committee COBRA.