A Microsoft Windows outage has left banks, airlines, telecommunications firms, TV and radio broadcasters and supermarkets experiencing issues following the appearance of blue screen of death errors worldwide. Manchester is evidently not immune, with the airport, trains and local businesses being affected.
The Microsoft outage seems to have occurred due to an update going wrong − rather than anything malicious, as far as we know − and has already affected systems all over the world. From Australia and Asia to the USA and all over Europe, flights have been grounded, Sky News was taken off air, and Morrisons has been experiencing payment issues − and the little issue of NHS systems also going down.
What has been affected by the Microsoft outage in Manchester?
Manchester Airport has seen some issues with its digital boards, but as it stands, ‘the advice to passengers is to prepare to travel as usual’, the airport has said.
Check-in areas are busier than usual and it may take slightly longer but the airport is not asking people to arrive at their airport earlier than advised by their airlines. Baggage handling is currently proving difficult and airlines are being affected differently, so travelers are urged to check before they travel.
TransPennine Express was one of the first companies to share their issues this morning, and of course this will affect some people traveling to and from Manchester stations. The Microsoft outage has caused delays for TransPennine Express − alongside Avanti West Coast services − so customers using the company in Manchester are encouraged to check before they travel.
The Bee Network in Manchester has also been minorly affected, sharing: “A widespread outage linked to Windows workstations is affecting computer systems this morning. Due to this issue, we are currently unable to take bookings for Local Link or Ring and Ride services.”
Premier League giant Manchester United said it had to delay selling tickets, so football fans beware. The club said on social media: “Unfortunately, due to a global Microsoft Servers outage which is affecting many systems, including ours, this morning’s ticket release will be postponed until midday.”
Of course, there are many more disruptions happening around Manchester, and the world, due to the Microsoft outage, but, as is the British way, there has been plenty of response already.
@ManchesterRed on Twitter/X said what many of us are thinking: “Not me logging in full of hope after hearing Microsoft is down, only to be bitterly disappointed to see my work deck unaffected. *sigh*”, and similarly @JoshMUFC951 said: “Hi @Microsoft, if you can make sure Teams is down until 4pm that would be great”… you have to laugh.
Hopefully this chaos is short lived, but we’ll aim to keep you up to date with everything being affected by the Microsoft outage in Manchester.