Microsoft Worldwide Blackout: On Friday, July 19, a technical glitch disrupted operations at airlines, banks and the London Stock Exchange from the United States to Asia. The widespread disruption followed an outage reported by Microsoft Corp. that affected its online services. The outage caused a stir online, prompting netizens to react.
Notable companies affected include McDonald’s Corp., United Airlines Holdings Inc., and LSE Group. These firms faced significant problems with customer service communications. They were part of several companies spanning from Japan to India and the US that reported operational glitches. The cause of these disruptions is still unclear.
Major US carriers including American Airlines opened a new tab, Delta Airlines opened a new tab and United Airlines issued ground stops citing communication problems on Friday morning, less than an hour after Microsoft resolved an outage of its cloud services that affected several low-cost carriers.
It was not immediately clear whether the call to stop flights from flying was related to the earlier Microsoft opens a new tab cloud outage. Apart from American and Delta, flights of UAL and Allegiant Air are grounded.
Netizens reacted like this:
Online communities were full of speculation about the cause of the disruptions. Many netizens drew connections to an earlier Microsoft cloud services outage that affected low-cost carriers. However, official sources have not confirmed any connection between the two incidents.
Twitter user @FrequentFlyer22 wrote, “Stuck at the airport again! Is this the new normal for air travel? #AirlineChaos”
On Reddit, discussion in r/travel centered around the potential economic impact of the disruptions. One popular comment read, “Airlines are going to lose millions from this. I wonder if ticket prices will go up to cover these losses?”
Meanwhile, Facebook groups dedicated to travel were flooded with affected passengers seeking advice and sharing their experiences. Many expressed concerns about compensation for missed connections and hotel bookings.
The incident reignited debate about the reliability of air travel infrastructure. Instagram influencer @TravelWithJane posted, “Today’s events show how vulnerable our transportation system really is. We need better contingency plans!”
As the situation continues to unfold, social media remains a key platform for passengers to share updates, seek information and express their opinions on the airline industry’s ability to handle such massive disruptions.
(With inputs from agencies)