People in the UK and across the world have been struggling with a series of issues this morning following a major IT outage. The NHS has confirmed “the majority” of GP practices are affected along with travellers, shoppers and people wanting to do banking.
Crowdstrike, a cybersecurity software firm say they have identified the cause of the problem as being issues with an anti-viral update. Posting on social media, CrowdStrike said the global IT outage was “not a cyberattack”.
It said it was “actively working with customers impacted by a defect found in a single content update for Windows hosts”. It said Mac and Linux hosts were not affected.
It added: “This is not a security incident or cyberattack. The issue has been identified, isolated and a fix has been deployed.
” We refer customers to the support portal for the latest updates and will continue to provide complete and continuous updates on our website. We further recommend organizations ensure they’re communicating with CrowdStrike representatives through official channels. Our team is fully mobilized to ensure the security and stability of CrowdStrike customers.”
The problem had has a major impact on a massive range of services however many have not issued details of the impact. Here is a full list of all those affected:
NHS
GP services
The NHS has said “the majority” of GP practices were affected by the outage. A NHS spokesman said it had hit its EMIS appointment and patient record system adding it was “causing disruption in the majority of GP practices”.
It said there were measures in place to manage the disruption, including using paper patient records and handwritten prescriptions, and the usual phone systems to contact a GP. It said there were “no known” issues affected 999 or emergency services, so these could be used as normal.
It added: “Patients should attend appointments unless told otherwise. Only contact your GP if it’s urgent, and otherwise please use 111 online or call 111.”
A number of GP practices reported the problem on social media including Grimethorpe Surgery in Barnsley which wrote on X, external reporting a “major issue”, saying it has “no access” to the clinical system. The clinic later posted saying: “We are aware that users are still unable to access EMIS Web.”
Church Lane Surgery in Brighouse posted on X saying “our clinical system has not been working since 7am this morning. We have no access to patient clinical records so are unable to book appointments or provide information.”
Central Lakes Medical Group in Ambleside wrote on X saying it has been “impacted by the IT outage”. Solihull Healthcare Partnership in the West Midlands said there is a “national issue” with “EMIS Web”, the clinical computer system.
Wilmslow Health Centre said: “All practices in the UK using the NHS commissioned GP computer system EMIS are currently without access to their IT systems. This is beyond the control of GP surgeries. Please bear with us until we have our IT systems back online.”
Pharmacies
The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) confirmed the IT outage is disrupting community pharmacies.
Supermarkets
Morrisons
It has said it is affected by the outage.
Waitrose
Some stores have had to go cash-only.
Co-op
Some of its stores are currently only taking cash.
Gails
It has said it is experiencing some issues.
Waterstones
It is affected by the outage.
Bars and restaurants
Wetherspoons pubs
It has been hit by the outage. Customers can only pay in cash as cards are not being accepted.
Trains
Govia Thameslink Railway’s brands – Southern, Thameslink, Gatwick Express and Great Northern
In a joint statement these all posted on social media: “We are currently experiencing widespread IT issues across our entire network. Our IT teams are actively investigating to determine the root cause of the problem.
“We are unable to access driver diagrams at certain locations, leading to potential short-notice cancellations, particularly on the Thameslink and Great Northern networks. Additionally, other key systems, including our real-time customer information platforms, are also affected.
“We will provide additional updates when we can. In the meantime, please regularly check your journey before you travel.”
South Western Railway
Ticket vending machines are currently non-operational with passengers advised to buy their tickets online.
National Rail
Some train operators are unable to access driver diagrams at some locations. This has lead to possible train cancellations at short notice.
TransPennine Express
Some stations and systems are having IT issues. If there are problems passengers should buy their tickets online.
New York City’s MTA system and Washington D.C Metro trains
Both of these have been affected by the outage
Airports
Edinburgh Airport
There has been some disruption to services as the computer error caused departure screens to malfunction. Departure boards in the main terminal building appeared to freeze, showing out-of-date information about gate numbers and take off times – the glitch also set off fire alarms.
Manchester Airport
Passengers checking in for Swissport flights have been delayed.
London Gatwick
There have been some delays with check-in and passing through security. However passengers have been advised to continue to arrive for their normal check-in time.
Stansted Airport
Some of the airline check-in services have had to be done manually, however the main operational systems are unaffected. Flights are operating as usual.
Heathrow Airport
It has been affected however flights are continuing to go. Passengers are advised to check with their airline for any changes.
Berlin Airport
Technical problems have been reported. Flight have been delayed.
Luton Airport
It has been affected and has reverted to using manual systems.
San Francisco Airport
Passengers have report some flights have been suspended
Mumbai Airport
Check-in desks closed for IndiGo, Akasa and Spice Jet flights
Qantas
The Australian airline has grounded flights.
Schipol Airport, Amsterdam
Flights to and from the Netherlands affected
Spain
The Spanish airport association AENA – has reported issues at 42 airports.
Palma Mallorca Airport
Affected by the outage
Fiumicino Airport, Rome
It has been affected by the outage
Ibiza Airport
Empty as a result of IT outage.
Hamburg Airport in Germany
This has been affected by the outage.
The Hague, Rotterdam
Passengers were facing delays
Narita International Airport, Tokyo
Check-in delays are being experienced by passengers.
Suvarnabhumi Airport, Bangkok
Passengers report being in longer queues than usual
Airlines
Ryanair has warned of “potential disruptions across the network” due to a global third party system outage. On the airline’s website, it posted: “Potential disruptions across the network (Fri 19 July) due to a global 3rd party system outage.”
Passengers were advised to arrive at the airport three hours in advance of their flight to avoid any disruptions.
United, Delta and American Airlines have issued a “global ground stop” on all of their flights. Flights that are currently airborne will continue, but no further flights will take off for now.
Frontier, Allegiant, Spirit and SunCountry airlines
These grounded flights overnight.
Hong King Express Airways
Travellers have been delayed at Hong Kong International Airport
TV networks
Sky News
Sky News was knocked off air online however it has now said it is running once more. On Friday morning, a statement on their online page, YouTube and TV channel says: “We apologise for the interruption to this broadcast. We hope to restore the transmission of Sky News shortly.”
Paramount
Some of its channels including MTV, VH1, CMT and Pop TV all went offline.
Football
Manchester United has postponed its ticket release from this morning until midday.
Banks
Santander
Santander has said some of its customers are affected by the outage. It said: “There are some industry-wide IT Issues that are affecting some of our customers.
“We apologise for any inconvenience. We’re currently investigating this matter.”
Beyond Bank
Beyond Bank in Australia has been experiencing issues.
Barclays
Customers have received error codes which they say customer services staff have said it is as a result of the outage. However it has released a statement saying all services other than Smart Investor were working as usual
Natwest, Nationwide
Customers have reported issues however both financial organisations have said they are unaware of any issues as a result of the global outage.