Microsoft outage: Flight operations continuing to get back on track

Amidst the Microsoft global outage, CEO Satya Nadella provided an update on Twitter, stating, "We are aware of this issue and are working closely with CrowdStrike and across the industry to provide customers technical guidance and support to safely bring their systems back online.”

While in India on Saturday, Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu provided an update, stating, "Since 3am last night (July, 20), airline systems across airports have begun operating normally."

Commenting on the issue leading ocean and air freight rate benchmarking and analytics platform, Xeneta’s Chief Airfreight Officer, Niall van de Wouw said “Air supply chains are highly complex, so a global disruption of this scale could have a severe impact. Planes and cargo are not where they are supposed to be, and it will take days or even weeks to fully resolve.”

Latest data from Xeneta shows that air cargo supply chains were already under pressure prior to the IT failure.

Global demand in June rose by +13% compared to the same month in 2023, continuing an upward trend seen throughout 2024 to date.

At the same time, air freight supply has increased by only +3% year-on-year.

German cargo carrier Lufthansa Cargo stated that technical disruptions have mostly been resolved, and operations at its hubs in Frankfurt and Munich are returning to normal. However, Lufthansa Cargo's global system partners have also faced significant disruptions, which may still result in individual delays or rebookings in the transport of shipments.

In a LinkedIn post, Saudia Cargo announced that its operations remained smooth despite the global IT glitch.

American Airlines announced that it has safely re-established its operations. Meanwhile, United Airlines reported that while most of its systems have recovered, the airline continues to experience some operational disruptions, including flight delays and cancellations.

United Cargo, the cargo division of United Airlines, provided an update, stating, "Significant progress has been made in restoring our network. Because of this, we are making adjustments to our previous restrictions."

It noted that all LifeGuard products, all Human Remains products, and QuickPak shipments containing radioactive material or human tissue are restricted on its domestic narrowbody network.

“We have lifted all restrictions on TempControl and Perishable shipments. This means that all shipments on widebody aircraft and products not restricted for narrowbody aircraft will continue to be accepted. Even though we are reducing the number of restrictions in place, there is still the possibility of flight disruptions and extended wait times at freight facilities until the airline fully recovers,” added United Cargo.

Delta announced that it has resumed some flights and has issued a travel waiver.

National Air Cargo’s Chief Growth Officer, Alan White, stated in a LinkedIn post "Its business as usual," indicating that the airline remains unaffected by the global outage and is operating its flights normally.

In Africa, Ethiopian Airlines provided an update via LinkedIn, stating that it is not currently experiencing any disruptions to its IT systems at its headquarters or any impact on its flight operations.

Schiphol airport Amsterdam mentioned on Twitter, "The outage has been largely resolved and systems are back up and running. Tomorrow (July 20), we expect a busy day due to the summer holidays."

According to a Reuters report, Hong Kong International Airport has resumed normal operations, as reported by Chinese state media.

While Heathrow Airport stated on Twitter that it is working with airport colleagues to minimise the impact of the global IT outage on passenger journeys. Flights are continuing to operate, and passengers are advised to check with their airlines for the latest flight information.