A technical glitch in Microsoft’s servers on Friday led to widespread disruptions across various global services, impacting aviation operations in India and other countries, and halting banking functions.
The outage also caused the UK’s Sky News to go off-air, while in India, it disrupted ticket booking and check-in systems. Microsoft Windows users worldwide experienced the “Blue Screen of Death” (BSOD), exacerbating the issue.
The glitch resulted in widespread BSOD errors, affecting multiple industries, including airports, television news stations, and financial institutions. Flights worldwide, including those in India, were severely impacted, with some cancellations, delays, and stalled booking and check-in processes.
American carriers were among the first to report issues due to the technical glitch, followed by a range of airlines encountering problems with web check-in.
In India, Indigo, Akasa Air, Vistara, Air India and Air India Express posted messages on X saying they were facing issues.
“Due to the ongoing issue with Microsoft Azure, our systems across the network have been impacted, resulting in increased waiting times at our contact centers and airports. Passengers might experience slow check-in and long queues,” Indigo said.
“We are working tirelessly to restore stability and normalcy. Our digital team is collaborating with Microsoft Azure to resolve these issues swiftly.”
Similarly, Akasa Airlines reported temporary unavailability of certain online services at Mumbai and Delhi airports, including booking and check-in systems. SpiceJet also encountered technical difficulties in updating flight disruption information.
Microsoft Azure, a cloud computing platform, provides critical services for managing, accessing, and developing applications for individuals, companies, and governments.
Microsoft said that it was working to fix the servers and investigating the problem affecting users’ access to Microsoft 365 apps and services. “We are working to redirect affected traffic to alternative systems to minimize the impact. Our services are gradually improving, and we continue to work on resolving the server issues,” the company said.
