Edinburgh Airport suffers global computer outage

Updated 6 hours ago

Edinburgh Airport was hit by a computer outage on Friday, affecting airlines, media outlets and banks around the world.

Passengers whose flights were cancelled were asked to leave the airport while crews managed wait times “as best they could.”

Later in the afternoon, the airport said the delay would last into the weekend, but that operations were otherwise back to normal.

Cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike said the global computer outage was caused by a “flaw” in a content update.

The Scottish Government’s equivalent of Cobra meetings, the Scottish Government Resilience Room (SGORR), has been activated to assess any potential impact across the country.

However, he confirmed that the government’s computer systems were functioning normally.

Departures boards at Edinburgh Airport’s terminal appeared to freeze before 07:00, displaying outdated information about gate numbers and take-off times.

A fire alarm also sounded, which was understood to be related to computer problems.

The airport said 55 incoming and outgoing flights were cancelled during the day.

Passenger Ellie Jamieson, 22, was due to fly to Barcelona but told BBC Scotland News she had been waiting in a queue for more than an hour and a half.

He said some passengers had been boarded and then taken off again and that police had blocked the escalator.

Ms Jamieson said: “The airport staff are not explaining anything or offering any reassurance, they are just constantly making announcements saying there are technical delays.”

The boarding pass scanners were not working and staff had to check them manually.

Passengers are urged to check with their airline for flight updates over the weekend as there may be consequences resulting from the disruption.

Glasgow and Aberdeen airports said they were largely unaffected.

However, many other airports in the UK and around the world reported delays and many flights were suspended.

More than 5,000 flights have been cancelled worldwide (4.6% of those scheduled), according to the latest update from aviation analytics firm Cirium.

Ryanair said it was also experiencing problems and advised passengers to arrive at airports three hours before their scheduled departure time.

Airports in Spain were also severely affected, leaving many British tourists stranded.

Corinne Morrison Gillies was in Alicante, waiting to fly home to Edinburgh with her mother Annette, 79, and daughter Ava, 10.

The family was left on a bus with other passengers for more than an hour and a half before being taken to be manually searched by airport staff in small groups.

Ms Morrison Gillies said: “All flights are delayed and in the red. There is quite a bit of confusion and poor communication.

“At the moment, they’re just trying to manage people as best they can. I feel sorry for the older passengers, I think they’re finding it more challenging.

ScotRail said it had not been affected, but other UK rail companies and some NHS services reported problems.

NHS Shetland said the problems had affected its fire alarm system and a GP surgery in NHS Grampian has asked patients to only contact them with urgent problems.

One of NHS Borders’ patient management systems was also affected and patients with affected appointments were urged to contact the health board.

There were also reports of businesses being unable to process payments; Morrisons said some stores had been affected earlier but the issue had now been resolved.

Glasgow’s Royal Concert Hall also said it was experiencing problems processing ticket bookings, and Heart of Midlothian football club said its box office had been affected.

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The impact on NHS services is minimal and patients should continue to attend all appointments as planned.

“There have been no major disruptions reported to NHS Scotland’s systems.

“We are aware of the impacts at Edinburgh Airport and urge anyone travelling today to check with their operator.

“A limited number of UK rail operators are feeling the impact, but ScotRail and the Caledonian Sleeper service are currently unaffected.”

Crowdstrike, which claims to have implemented a solution, was founded in 2011 with the goal of protecting the world’s largest companies from cyber vulnerabilities.

Its CEO, George Kurtz, said: “Crowdstrike is actively working with customers affected by a flaw found in a single content update for Windows.

“This is not a security incident or a cyber attack.”

In a letter sent to customers and partners, Mr Kurtz apologized for the global IT service disruption and said Crowdstrike “understands the severity and impact of the situation.”