Australian airports have been thrown into chaos as a result of a catastrophic international IT software outage.
The disruption affected check-in services and information screens in airports, leading to significant delays.
Qantas, Virgin Australia and Jetstar were all disrupted by the outage, with the latter releasing the below statement.
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“Jetstar continues to be impacted by a global software issue that’s affecting airlines and businesses around the world.
“As a result of the outage, all Jetstar Airways flights have been cancelled until 2am local time Saturday 20 July.
“The IT outage is impacting multiple Jetstar systems, including the system we use to contact customers and we sincerely apologise for the frustration this is causing.
“Our teams are working on recovery options and we will contact customers with updates as soon as our systems are back online.
“If you’re due to travel today or tomorrow, but no longer wish to travel, we’re offering free moves (+7 days from date of travel) or voucher refunds. Please contact us via LiveChat to discuss your options.
“We’re working with our providers to resolve the issues as quickly as possible and thank customers for their understanding and patience.
Travellers were left stranded at Sydney Airport, standing in line for flights they were unsure would take off.
Customers were reportedly told to search online for their flight information while systems were down.
One woman said she’d been waiting more than four hours.
To add insult to injury, they had first booked an earlier flight, then changed it to a later one that put them in the path of the outage.
“Bit annoying, but what do you do?” she said.
A Sydney Airport spokesperson confirmed services were affected by the software failure.
“A global technical outage has impacted some airline operations and terminal services,” the spokesperson said.
“Flights are currently arriving and departing however there may be some delays throughout the evening.
“We have activated our contingency plans with our airline partners and deployed additional staff to our terminals to assist passengers.
“Anyone travelling today should leave plenty of time to come to the airport and check with their airline regarding the status of their flight.”
At Melbourne Airport, each airline was being affected differently.
“Passengers arriving on international flights are being processed normally,” an airport spokesperson said.
“Passengers departing internationally on Jetstar and Scoot are experiencing ongoing issues, all other international airlines are currently processing passengers normally.
“Domestically, Rex is unaffected, Qantas and Virgin are slowly processing passengers whilst Jetstar is experiencing a significant outage.”
Travellers were urged to check with their airline for the most current information, and ask staff onsite for assistance if necessary.
A Brisbane Airport spokesperson confirmed flights were operating as normal, despite the communications interruptions.
“Airlines impacted by IT issues are using back-up systems to keep passengers moving,” the spokesperson said.
“Allow a little extra time if you’re travelling tonight.”
While Australian flights were not grounded, some travellers were unable to depart due to the communication issue.
Flights from several major US airlines including Delta, United and American Airlines have been affected.
Asian carriers AirAsia, Cebu Pacific Air and Singapore Airlines have all been hit by the ongoing global tech disruption, the airlines said on their respective social media channels.
AirAsia said its reservation and check-in systems have been impacted, while Cebu Pacific Air said it was forced to handle all processes manually due to the outage.
Six Indian airlines are experiencing issues with online services due to problems with their service providers, causing delays.
– With CNN