Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi International Airport faced significant disruptions on Friday because of a global IT outage impacting Microsoft services. This led to the cancellation of 23 flights, including 12 departures and 11 arrivals.

Affected Flights

Several airlines experienced cancellations, including Indigo flights to Visakhapatnam, Tirupati, Ahmedabad, and Bengaluru. The airport advised passengers to contact their respective airlines for updates.

 

Airport's Response

The airport announced on social media, "We are closely working with all our stakeholders to minimise the inconvenience to our flyers. You may please get in touch with the airline concerned for updates on your flight information. We thank you for your support and understanding."

 

Hand-Written Boarding Passes Issued

To manage the disruption, Hyderabad Airport resorted to issuing hand-written boarding passes. A viral image showed a passenger with a handwritten boarding pass for a flight to Kolkata, highlighting the extent of the impact.

 

Social Media Reactions

Akshay Kothari, co-founder of NotionHQ, shared his experience online, noting, "The Microsoft/CrowdStrike outage has taken down most airports in India. I got my first hand-written boarding pass today."

 

Ongoing Efforts and Advisories

Hyderabad Airport emphasized collaborative efforts with stakeholders to manage the situation. Passengers are urged to stay updated through their airlines or airport help desks.

 

Technological Vulnerabilities Highlighted

This incident underscores the critical role of technology in aviation and the vulnerabilities exposed during outages. Efforts to restore normal operations are ongoing.

 

Microsoft Outage Details

Microsoft's significant outage affected Azure services starting Thursday, possibly due to a backend infrastructure configuration change. While improvements were reported, the exact cause and extent of the issue remained unclear.