This Friday, July 19, is turning out to be a chaotic day for travelers worldwide due to a massive IT system failure. The problem, which began in the early hours, has affected check-in and information systems across Aena’s entire network. As a result, operations at many airports, including Madrid-Barajas, Barcelona-El Prat, and others in the Levantine region and the islands, have been thrown into disarray.

Aena Struggles to Manage the Situation

Aena, Spain‘s airport management company, has acknowledged the issue and stated that efforts are underway to resolve it as quickly as possible. However, they have not provided a clear timeline for when normal operations might resume. Meanwhile, complaints are piling up on social media as frustrated travelers express their dissatisfaction.

Potential for a Broader Crisis

The IT failure is not just limited to Spanish airports. There are growing concerns that this could be a global crisis affecting various sectors, including transportation infrastructure in other countries, airlines, railway systems, banks, payment services, emergency services, and even public administrations. The speculation points to a widespread Windows system failure following an update of a powerful antivirus program by the cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike.

Global Impact on Airlines

The problem seems to have a broad reach, impacting companies in the United States, the United Kingdom, and India. In the United States, major airlines like Delta, United, and American Airlines have been forced to ground their flights due to communication issues, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The outage is also linked to a failure in Microsoft’s Azure cloud computing system, which has disrupted service management operations and connectivity.

Travelers Face Disruptions

Many travelers woke up to bad news this morning, finding their summer vacation plans disrupted by the IT collapse affecting numerous companies. As of 9 am, several flights departing from Barcelona‘s El Prat airport were already showing delays due to the IT issue.

Microsoft’s Response

Microsoft has assured that it is taking steps to resolve the issue affecting airports and other companies using its IT systems. ‘Our services are improving as we continue to take measures to fix it,’ the company stated on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter).

Uneven Impact Across Airports

Aena has clarified that not all airports are affected equally by the technical issue. Efforts are being made to fix the problem as soon as possible, but the extent of the impact varies across different locations.

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