Sky News briefly went off air on Friday morning amid a global IT outage that also disrupted flights around the world and train services in the UK.
According to the BBC, the disruptions appear to be linked to a software update for cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike's antivirus software. The report says several Microsoft Windows machines are affected, and the company told AFP it is taking “mitigation measures.”
In a statement on Channel X, Sky News chairman David Rhodes said the network “was unable to broadcast live TV this morning and we apologise to viewers for the disruption. A large part of our news reporting remains available online and we are working hard to restore all services.”
Rhodes told Channel 10 that Sky News was back online at around 9am UK time, but “not at full capacity”.
As for air travel, the BBC reported that airports in New Zealand, Japan, India, Amsterdam Schiphol, Hong Kong, Australia, Edinburgh, Berlin and others experienced technical difficulties. In the United States, United, Delta and American Airlines issued a “global grounding” of all flights. Flights currently flying have been given the green light to continue operating, but no more flights will depart.
UK rail companies Southern, Thameslink, Gatwick Express and Great Northern posted on social media that they were experiencing “widespread IT issues” and warned passengers it could disrupt their travel plans.
According to the BBC, technical issues have also been reported within the NHS's GP system, preventing patients from booking new appointments. Popular coffee chain Gail's has also said it is unable to accept any in-store payments.
