General
Microsoft outage flight delays and cancellations: Arrive at the airport early, say airlines
Multiple European airports and airlines have reported problems.
There has been a major outage on Microsoft systems worldwide leading to problems for traveller during the busy summer season.
Airlines, airports, media companies as well as other types of businesses have reported problems as their systems rely on Microsoft.
Here’s what we know so far about its impact on European travel.
What is the advice for passengers during this kind of incident?
If you are due to fly today, our advice is:
– Check your airline and airport’s websites and apps before you leave for the airport and follow any advice given
– Airline and airport social media channels are also a good source of up-to-date information
– If it looks like your flight will still be departing, arrive at the airport the usual two hours in advance, unless your airline or airport has advised otherwise
– Take water and snacks with you to the airport, especially if you are travelling with children or elderly people, in case of long queues or other delays
– Queues at security points have a tendency to get longer during this kind of situation. So make sure your hand luggage doesn’t have any prohibited items in it to ensure you don’t add to the problem
Ryanair advises passengers to arrive at the airport early
Ryanair’s official Twitter account has an update from this morning at 9.30am CET, saying:
“We’re currently experiencing disruption across the network due to a Global 3rd party IT outage which is out of our control. We advise all passengers to arrive at the airport at least 3 hours before their scheduled departure time.”
It seems that the outage means passengers cannot check-in online as Ryanair advises:
“If you’re due to travel today and have not already checked-in for your flight, you can do so at the airport.”
European airports affected so far
Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport is the latest to report delays.
“The outage has an impact on flights flying from and to Schiphol,” a spokesperson told the BBC, adding it is not yet clear how many flights are affected.
Meanwhile at London’s Stansted airport, some check-ins are being done manually but “flights are still operating as normal”.
“Our main operational systems are unaffected,” a spokesperson says, but “some retail payment machine services have been impacted”.
Departure screens at Edinburgh airport were down this morning, and a fire alarm in the main terminal building was going off, thought to be have been triggered by the same computer error.
Can passengers claim compensation if their flight is delayed or cancelled?
At the moment, it is not clear whether passengers will be owed compensation.
Under European law, if a flight is delaye dby more than three hours or cancelled entirely, the airline has to offer the passenger another flight or give them a full refund and sometimes compensation.
However there are exceptions to this rule, such as weather conditions as these are out of airlines’ control.
It remains to be seen who will be liable for today’s major issues.
Have your travel plans been affected by the outage? Get in touch and tell us more via X or Instagram.
