Sky News goes off air for hours due to global Microsoft outage

A major outage in Microsoft's cloud services caused massive disruptions to users, flight operations, and media houses.

Published on: Jul 19, 2024, 14:00:24 IST

By HT News Desk

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The UK-based media outlet Sky News was forced to go off-air for around three hours on Friday morning following a global Microsoft outage. Viewers were left with a stock footage, after which the channel changed the screen to an apology.

Sky News goes off air due to Microsoft Windows global outage (Twitter)

“We apologise for the interruption to this broadcast. We hope to restore the transmission of Sky News shortly,” the apology message read.

One of the presenters, Jacquie Beltrao, posted a picture with her fellow colleagues on X (formerly known as Twitter) and wrote a message for the viewers: “We’re obviously not on air—we’re trying.”

Meanwhile, viewers responded to the post, waiting for the news channel to resume the broadcast.

“Have you tried switching it off and back on again? Hope you’re back on air soon,” one of the users wrote. While, another X user said: “Missing my Sky News fix this morning”.

Also read: Microsoft's massive global outage: Bank services across the world halt

A major outage in Microsoft's cloud services caused massive disruptions to users, flight operations, and media houses. Several flights were cancelled or delayed, leading to inconvenience for the travellers.

As the outage hit, Akasa Airlines announced that some of its online services would be temporarily unavailable at the Mumbai and Delhi airports, while IndiGo said that its systems were also impacted by the outage. Spicejet also issued a statement saying it is facing a technical issue in providing flight updates.

The US-based Frontier Airlines, a unit of Frontier Group Holdings Inc., grounded flights for over two hours and attributed the cause to issues with Microsoft’s services.

Meanwhile, Microsoft said that its outage started at around 6 pm ET, with a subset of its customers experiencing issues with multiple Azure services in the Central US region. Issuing a statement, the company said that it is investigating the issue.

“Aware of this issue and have engaged multiple teams…We have determined the underlying cause,” it said.

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HT News Desk
Follow the latest breaking news, major developments and agenda-setting stories from India and around the world with the newsdesk at Hindustan Times. Operating round the clock, the desk brings together experienced editors, reporters and correspondents to deliver fast, accurate and contextual reporting across subjects that influence public policy, governance, business, society and international affairs. The HT News Desk covers politics, elections, government policies, the economy, business and markets, science and technology, the environment, law and order, infrastructure, education, climate issues and geopolitics, while closely tracking developments across states, institutions and global capitals. The team also leads coverage of major breaking news events, policy announcements, court proceedings, natural disasters, public emergencies and significant international developments. Reports published by the newsdesk are based on information gathered from reporters on the ground, official statements, government agencies, court records, regulatory filings, recognised institutions and other authoritative sources. Stories undergo editorial scrutiny and verification processes to ensure accuracy, fairness and relevance, and are updated as events evolve and additional information becomes available. Whether covering a key political decision in New Delhi, an economic policy shift affecting millions, a landmark court ruling or a major global event, the HT News Desk aims to provide readers with reliable, fact-based journalism that delivers not only the latest developments but also the context and analysis needed to understand their wider implications.Read More

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