Major Airports in Mumbai, Delhi, and Other Cities Experience Flight Cancellations Due to Microsoft Outage
Mumbai, 19th July 2024: Mumbai: A global outage of Microsoft services disrupted operations at several airports across India on Friday, causing significant interruptions for airlines including Indigo, Vistara, Akasa, SpiceJet, and Air India. The incident led to the cancellation of over 200 flights, with Indigo alone cancelling 192. Key financial institutions, such as Nuvama and Edelweiss, also experienced service interruptions due to the outage.
The disruption affected Microsoft Teams, Windows 365, OneDrive, and other Microsoft applications, leading to widespread issues with computer systems globally. This technical failure, attributed to an update from Microsoft’s security partner CrowdStrike, severely impacted airline check-in systems, leading to cancellations at airports in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, and Hyderabad.
A spokesperson for Bangalore International Airport Limited noted, “A global outage with the Navitaire Departure Control System (NDCS) has been affecting airline operations across their networks, including BLR Airport, since 10:40 IST on July 19, 2024.”
In response to the outage, airlines were forced to revert to manual check-in processes, including handwritten boarding passes. “Indigo, AI Express, AirAsia, SpiceJet, and Akasa are unable to access their check-in systems, leading to manual issuance of boarding passes. Mumbai Airport systems have not been affected,” reported a Mumbai Airport spokesperson.
Indigo Airlines stated, “Flight cancellations are due to the global travel system outage, which is beyond our control. The options to rebook or claim a refund are temporarily unavailable.”
Akasa Airlines announced that some online services would be temporarily down at Mumbai and Delhi airports, while SpiceJet reported technical difficulties in providing flight updates. International airlines such as American, United, and Delta also had to ground their flights due to the outage.
The IT failure caused by a security update led to the notorious Blue Screen of Death (BSOD), which damaged Windows installations. Cybersecurity analyst Mihir Desai commented, “The outage has taken entire industries offline, grounding most airlines, disrupting major TV stations worldwide, and impacting healthcare services.”
The disruption increased vulnerability to cybersecurity threats, raising concerns about potential data breaches and unauthorized access during the outage.
Airlines updated passengers on Twitter about the disruptions and delays caused by the network glitch, affecting bookings and check-ins at major airports. Full-service airline Vistara cancelled several flights from Delhi, while budget airline SpiceJet instructed passengers to check in manually at airports.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) and Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) advised airlines to keep passengers informed about delays and disruptions, coordinating with airports to address the situation. Civil Aviation Minister Rammohan Naidu stated, “The terminal operations team is working with airlines and the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) to minimize disruption. DGCA is monitoring the situation to ensure safety and procedural measures are in place.” He also urged airport authorities and airlines to provide extra seating, water, and food to passengers affected by delays.
The Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) issued a critical advisory on the Microsoft outage caused by the CrowdStrike update. Microsoft acknowledged the global outages and is gradually resolving issues with Microsoft 365 apps and services.
Despite the disruptions, Indian stock exchanges, NSE and BSE, reported no impact on trading due to the outage. Indian banking and financial institutions experienced minor disruptions, but the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) assessed that the Indian financial sector remains insulated from the global outage’s effects.
