In France, Roissy and Orly airports are under particular scrutiny, the two main entry points for delegations to the Paris Olympic Games, which begin on Friday.
The situation at airports is returning to normal on Saturday after a global computer failure on Friday caused major problems in transport, the media and financial markets and even prevented employees from using computer equipment.
In France, Roissy and Orly airports, the two main entry points for foreign delegations for the Paris Olympics, which begin on Friday, are under particular scrutiny. “The situation is back to normal at all airports in France,” said French Transport Minister Patrice Vergriete on social media.
Overall, the situation is showing signs of improvement in the skies around the world, according to AFP. On Friday evening, many Asian airports were showing “normal” or “almost normal” activity, notably in South Korea, Singapore, New Zealand, Hong Kong and the Philippines.
However, there are still some “residual problems” that have caused delays in Sydney; in Japan, “five flights” operated by the low-cost airline Jetstar were delayed today. Berlin International Airport, the most affected in Germany, is operating almost normally.
However, some passengers are still unable to use the check-in machines due to “sequences that occur within the airlines” and have to resort to counters to resolve the situation, an airport spokesman told AFP.
In the United States, emergency services in at least three states were affected and 2,400 flights were cancelled on Friday. “According to the information we have, flights have resumed across the country, but some congestion remains,” a US government official told reporters.
Around 1,280 flights were still cancelled in the United States at the start of the day, according to the latest figures. The cause was a faulty update to Microsoft’s Windows operating systems, triggered by a software solution from the American cybersecurity group CrowdStrike, and it is ruled out that this was a cyberattack or a computer security problem.
“The magnitude and timing of this disruption is unprecedented and will undoubtedly go down in history,” said Junade Ali, a cybersecurity expert contacted by AFP.
“I would like to personally apologize to all of the organizations, groups and individuals affected,” George Kurtz, chief executive of CrowdStrike, told CNBC on Friday.
In a blog post today, CrowdStrike said it had released a Windows update on Thursday evening that caused “a system crash and a blue screen.”
The update was fixed after 78 minutes, according to the company, which also posts on its blog tips for fixing the problem that Microsoft recommends its customers “follow.”
Source: Observadora
