There have been various reports of IT failures all over the world linked to Windows computers on Friday, July 19. Airports in the Netherlands have also been affected, causing disruptions to several flights.
The cyber outage is reportedly related to problems experienced by the cybersecurity company, CrowdStrike. The problems have mainly occurred with Windows computers, whereafter being updated they show a blue screen preventing the system from starting up.
Computer failures have affected banks, police, public transport, broadcasters and airports around the world. From Sydney to Berlin, flights have come to a standstill in many cases, and the Netherlands is no exception.
Due to the failure, several flights at Dutch airports have been grounded. The disruptions to flights have come at an inconvenient time as large crowds are expected due to the school holidays starting on Friday. Schiphol in Amsterdam has advised travellers to contact their airline and regularly check for updates regarding the status of their flights. "The impact is now being mapped out," said a Schiphol spokesperson.
Both KLM and Transavia have confirmed that the malfunction has caused disruptions to the airlines’ flights. Unfortunately, it can not be confirmed how long the disruptions will last.
Not only are the airports in the Netherlands affected, but hospitals have also been experiencing problems. The Sceperziekenhuis in Emmen has had to cancel all surgical operations in light of the malfunction. Emergency departments in certain areas are also not receiving people for medical emergencies for the time being.
Sites such as the UWV, Dutch bank KNAB, and more are also experiencing outages.
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