Online services outage hits IT systems in Asia

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) – The global disruption in online services on Friday mostly hit IT systems of airlines in Asia.

The disruption in boarding and scheduling of flights were reported in Australia, Japan, India, New Zealand, Thailand, among other places.

Many places reported disruption in banking services too.

Except for Australia, the technical outages seem not to have caused much disruption in other nations.

Singapore Airlines said its services and reservation hotlines were “currently experiencing technical issues due to a global IT system outage.”

However, it said there was no impact on the flights, “which are operating as scheduled.”

AirAsia airlines said its core reservation and check-in system were “impacted by a global IT issue affecting airlines worldwide.”

“You may experience slower check-ins and longer queues and we are doing our best to address this situation. We appreciate your patience and understanding during this time,” it said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Cebu Pacific Air said its system was also facing disruption due to the Microsoft outage.

“The technical issue requires us to handle affected processes manually, potentially causing delays.

“We are working closely with our teams to mitigate disruptions to our operations and will provide regular updates as the situation progresses,” it said in a statement.

The services of several Indian airlines also were impacted due to the outage.

“This system outage has a global impact and we truly regret the inconvenience caused,” India’s Indigo airlines wrote on X. “We assure you that our teams are working relentlessly to ensure safe travels.”

Some disruptions in online services were also reported in Sri Lanka.

In Southeast Asia, passengers’ services were disrupted at Don Mueang Airport in Thailand.

Online disruptions were also experienced in Japan.

Japanese airlines, many restaurants, railway and theme park companies reported system disruptions, Tokyo-based Kyodo News reported.

- ‘Large-scale technical outage’

Australia’s cybersecurity coordinator Lieutenant General Michelle McGuinness said the country experienced as “large-scale technical outage.”

The outage has impacted several companies and services throughout Australia.

“Our current information is this outage relates to a technical issue with a third-party software platform employed by affected companies,” he said on X.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation also reported that it has been “experiencing a major network outage, along with several other media outlets.”

People in New Zealand also reported disruptions in banking services.

Acting Prime Minister David Seymour said the government is “working to ensure that impacts on lifelines services are minimized and national coordination structures are activated, if required.”

“We appreciate the inconvenience this is causing for the public, retailers and businesses,” Seymour said on X.

Europe reported on Friday that a major Microsoft IT outage disrupted people's daily lives, affecting airports, airlines, businesses, media outlets, and stock exchanges.

A significant chain of failures spread from the US to Asia following Microsoft's announcement of an outage affecting its online services.