A global technological disruption led to flight cancellations, banks ceasing operations, and media outlets stopping broadcasts on Friday in a massive upheaval that impacted businesses and services worldwide, highlighting reliance on software from a few service providers.

Cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike stated that the issue believed to be behind the service outage was not a security incident or cyberattack.

The problem affected Microsoft 365 applications and services, with escalating disruptions continuing hours after the technology company announced that it was gradually working to resolve it.

DownDetector, which tracks reported internet outages, recorded increasing outages in services at Visa, ADT Security, Amazon, and airlines including American Airlines and Delta.

Australian media reported that airlines, telecommunications providers, banks, and media were disrupted due to loss of access to computer systems. Airlines in the UK, Europe, and India reported issues, and some New Zealand banks stated they were offline.

Microsoft 365 posted on X that the company was "actively redirecting affected traffic to alternative systems to mitigate the impact more effectively" and that they were "noticing a positive trend in service availability."

The company did not respond to requests for comment and did not clarify the cause of the outage further.

CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz posted on social media platform X that the company was "actively working with customers affected by a flaw found in a single content update for Windows hosts."

He said, “This is not a security incident or cyberattack. The issue has been identified and isolated, and a fix is being rolled out.”

Acting Prime Minister of New Zealand David Seymour stated on X that officials in the country are "moving quickly to understand the potential impacts" of the global issue.

Seymour wrote, "I haven't received any reports indicating that these issues are related to malicious cyber activity." He added that the issue caused "disruptions" for the public and businesses.

The Israeli Internet Directorate reported that it was among the places affected by the global outages, attributing it to an issue with CrowdStrike. Mail offices and hospitals in the country were also impacted, according to the Ministries of Communications and Health.

Meanwhile, significant disruptions reported by airlines and airports increased.

In the United States, the Federal Aviation Administration stated that United, American, Delta, and Allegiant airlines were all grounded. Travelers at Los Angeles International Airport slept on the floor of the concourse, using backpacks and other luggage as pillows, due to a delay on a United flight to Dallas International Airport early Friday.

Airlines, railways, and television stations in the UK were disrupted due to computer issues. Among the affected companies were budget airline Ryanair, train operators TransPennine Express and Govia Thameslink Railway, as well as Sky News.

Ryanair stated, "We are currently experiencing a network-wide outage due to a global IT disruption from a third party that is outside our control." "We advise all passengers to arrive at the airport at least three hours before their scheduled departure."

Edinburgh Airport said that the system outage meant waiting times were longer than usual. Stansted Airport in London stated that some airlines' check-in services were being completed manually, but flights were still operating.

Widespread problems were reported at Australian airports, where queues increased and some passengers were stranded due to the disruption of online check-in services and self-service kiosks. Travelers in Melbourne lined up for over an hour to check in, although flights were still operating.

Airlines in India faced disruptions, affecting thousands.

Private airline IndiGo informed passengers on X that the Microsoft service outage on Friday impacted operations of airlines in India, leading to disruptions for thousands of travelers.

Many airlines made statements on X saying they were tracking manual check-ins and boarding and warned of delays due to technical issues.

The Hong Kong Airport Authority stated that the outage affected some airlines at the city’s airport and shifted to manual check-in.

Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport reported on its website that the power outage had a "significant impact on flights" to and from the busy European hub. The outage occurred on one of the busiest days of the year at the airport, at the start of the summer holiday for many people.

In Germany, Berlin Airport said on Friday morning that "due to a technical error, there will be delays in check-in." The German news agency reported that flights were suspended until 10 a.m. (0800 GMT) without further details.

Zurich Airport, the busiest in Switzerland, halted landings on Friday morning, but stated that flights already in the air were still allowed to land. They noted that many airlines, handling agents, and other companies at the airport were affected, and manual check-in was necessary in some cases, but the airport's private systems were functioning.

At Leonardo da Vinci Airport in Rome, some flights to the United States were delayed while others were unaffected.

Australia appeared to be heavily affected by the issue. Reported outages on DownDetector included banks NAB, Commonwealth, and Bendigo, airlines Virgin Australia and Qantas, along with internet and phone service providers like Telstra.

Hospitals in the UK and Germany also reported problems.

Many practices within the National Health Service in England reported that the outage had affected their clinical computer system, which contains medical records and is used for scheduling.

Church Lane Surgery in Brighouse, northern England, stated on social media platform X: "We do not have access to patients' clinical records, so we cannot book appointments or provide information." "This is a national issue and is being treated as a top-level priority."

The National Health Service did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

In northern Germany, Schleswig-Holstein University Hospital, which has branches in Kiel and Lübeck, canceled all elective surgeries scheduled for Friday, but patient care and emergency services were not affected.

News media in Australia - including ABC and Sky News - were unable to broadcast on their television and radio channels and reported a sudden shutdown of Windows-based computers. Some news broadcasters streamed live online from dark offices, in front of computers displaying "blue screen of death" errors.

In South Africa, at least one major bank reported that it was experiencing "countrywide service outages" as customers claimed they were unable to make payments using their bank cards in grocery stores and gas stations.

New Zealand banks ASB and Kiwibank stated that their services were disrupted.

One X user posted a screenshot of an alert from CrowdStrike indicating that the company was aware of "reports of outages on Windows hosts" related to its Falcon Sensor platform. The alert was posted on a password-protected CrowdStrike site and could not be verified. CrowdStrike did not respond to requests for comment.