One of the biggest IT outages in years was reported by Microsoft’s Windows 10 users across the world, with the company confirming that the technical issues started around 18:00 Eastern Time on July 18. According to reports, the technical issues were caused by a faulty content update from CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc., a cybersecurity technology company based in the United States, which has since announced that the problem has been identified and a fix has been deployed. Nevertheless, some cyber security experts are warning that it could take affected customers longer to get all their computer systems back up and running, even after the software fix is deployed.
Within hours of the IT outage emerging, the technical issues resulted in widespread operational issues, most notably at some of the world’s major airlines, airports and seaports. While some operators have been able to resume operations following the outages, it remains unclear how long it will take local ocean and air cargo operators to clear the backlog that accumulated due to the technical issues. Localized increases in port and airport congestion and cargo processing delays at these facilities should be anticipated.
IT outage causes widespread logistics disruptions
Major regional airports and seaports were among the most impacted entities during the global IT outage. Impacts were confirmed to flight and airport operations in many countries across Europe, North America and Asia. In the United States, several of the country’s biggest carriers announced global ground stops in response to the technical issues, including Delta Air Lines, Inc., American Airlines, Inc., and United Airlines, Inc. KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, the flag carrier of the Netherlands, also confirmed that most of its flights were grounded due to the technical issues.
Similarly, operational disruptions of varying degrees were confirmed at major airports across these regions. In Europe, flight operations came to a halt at Berlin-Brandenburg International Airport in Germany, however, airport authorities restarted the airport’s systems, with operations resuming throughout the day. Flight operations also faced disruptions at Zurich Airport, Switzerland’s biggest airport, and at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport in the Netherlands, one of the busiest airports in Europe by passenger numbers and cargo volume.
Technical issues related to airlines’ check-in operations were also reported at airports in Ireland, Spain, and Belgium. Similar technical disruptions were reported at several major airports across the Asia-Pacific region, including in Singapore, India, Hong Kong, and Australia.
Many major seaports, particularly across the European continent, reported operational disruptions due to technical issues linked to the Microsoft outage. In Sweden and the United Kingdom, both countries’ biggest seaports, the Port of Gothenburg and the Port of Felixstowe, confirmed operational impacts. Meanwhile, the Port of Gdansk in Poland, the busiest seaport on the Baltic Sea, asked vessels not to send new containers to its terminals until further notice amid ongoing technical issues. Operational impacts, such as disruptions to the movement of trucks and containers in and out of port areas, were also reported at the Ports of Genoa in Italy, Aarhus in Denmark, and Valencia in Spain.
With operational disruptions still ongoing at many major regional ports, local congestion at the affected logistics hubs is likely to grow, while delays in the processing of incoming and outgoing cargo shipments could last into the weekend as port operators work through the backlog caused by IT outages in the coming days and weeks.
Everstream clients are receiving more detailed insights and recommendations about this risk.
Don’t miss key supply chain risk updates! Subscribe now to get supply chain news, weather updates, forecasts, and other insights.