top of page

Global disruptions in air traffic and beyond


Global disruptions in air traffic and beyond

An update from Microsoft has led to massive global disruptions and is currently causing significant disruptions in various areas of public life. Air traffic is particularly affected, but other sectors such as healthcare and retail have not been spared either.


Spanish airports in particular have been hit hard. Many of the country's airports are completely closed, leading to significant delays and flight cancellations. Madrid-Barajas Airport, one of the largest and most important airports in Europe, is paralyzed. Barcelona-El Prat Airport is also reporting complete closures.


In Germany, Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) has banned all take-offs and landings in response to the technical problems. Vienna-Schwechat Airport is also experiencing significant difficulties, particularly at check-in, which is leading to long queues. Travelers are frustrated and are looking for alternatives, while airport operators are feverishly searching for solutions.


But it is not just air traffic that is affected. In the Netherlands, numerous operations had to be postponed. As the Bild newspaper reports, hospitals are forced to postpone planned operations due to the technical problems, which is placing a considerable burden on patients and the health system. There are also serious effects in Japan. Several McDonald's branches had to close because the cash register systems and ordering terminals were not working. Customers were faced with locked doors and the branches recorded significant losses in sales.


In the US, the 911 emergency number is limited, causing great concern. In emergencies, response time for emergency services is critical and limited accessibility poses a significant threat to public safety. The problems extend from Australia to Europe. In Sydney and Melbourne, numerous events have been cancelled due to technical systems failure. In the UK, several supermarket chains reported difficulties in processing payments and managing inventory.


Microsoft has not yet commented in detail on the causes of the problem, but is working intensively on a solution. Experts suspect that a faulty update has led to the widespread disruptions. The global dependence on Microsoft's software is particularly evident in these hours.

bottom of page