Air France flights and French TV disrupted in major Microsoft bug

Computer giant Microsoft has reported a major outage in its cloud computing services for companies around the world signed up to its 365 software package. 

Air France and TV channels in France are affected, and many people have reported that their mobile phone and internet access is also disrupted.

Microsoft Corporation reported the outage on its Azure cloud and Microsoft 365 services on Friday morning. It reportedly relates to the use of an antivirus software produced by CrowdStrike.

The problem is not believed to be due to a cyberattack, with the French cybersecurity agency Anssi announcing that "no element suggests that".

So far only businesses have reported problems. Individual users are not thought to be at risk as CrowdStrike caters to professional users.

Air France, Ryanair, Delta Airlines, American Airlines and United are among the airlines affected by the outage. 

Several airports have also reported problems, including Sydney, Berlin and Madrid.

Microsoft problems in France

• Ryanair and Air France say they are facing delays “at some destinations”. 
• French airports have not declared any problems directly linked to the outage.  Aeroports de Paris, which manages Charles de Gaulle and Paris Orly airports, announced that that its systems "are not affected".
• Irish Ferries was reportedly affected by the glitch at 9:00, however the Port of Calais announced that the company's systems had recovered at 10:00
• The organisers of the Paris Olympic Games, due to start on July 26, say their systems are affected: "Paris 2024‘s technical teams are fully mobilised to limit the impact and we have activated our contingency plans to ensure the continuation of our operations," the group announced.

• The SNCF is “on alert”, a spokesperson told Le Figaro, but has not identified any problems yet.

• Many mobile phone users with Free Mobile, SFR, Bouygues and Orange have reported signal loss, however it is as yet unknown whether this is related to the Microsoft glitch.

• Several French television channels have also reported technical problems, including - to much embarrassment - displaying their graphics and weather maps.