On Friday, July 19, a wave of technical malfunctions disrupted operations at airlines, banks, and the London Stock Exchange, spanning from the United States to Asia. The widespread disruptions followed an outage reported by Microsoft Corp., affecting its online services. The outage caused a stir online, leading to netizens' reaction.
Among the notable companies affected were McDonald's Corp., United Airlines Holdings Inc., and the LSE Group. These firms experienced significant issues with customer service communications. They were part of a broader range of corporations, extending from Japan to India and the US, that reported operational glitches. The cause of these disruptions remains unclear.
Major U.S. carriers, including American Airlines opened a new tab, Delta Airlines, opened a new tab and United Airlines issued ground stops on Friday morning, citing communication issues, less than an hour after Microsoft resolved its cloud services outage that impacted several low-cost carriers.
It was not immediately clear whether the call to keep flights from taking off were related to the earlier Microsoft opening a new tab cloud outage. Apart from American and Delta, UAL and Allegiant Air are grounded flights.
Here's how netizens reacted:
Online communities were abuzz with speculation about the cause of the disruptions. Many netizens drew connections to an earlier Microsoft cloud services outage that had impacted low-cost carriers. However, official sources have not confirmed any link between the two events.
Twitter user @FrequentFlyer22 wrote, "Stuck at the airport again! Is this the new normal for air travel? #AirlineChaos"
On Reddit, discussions in r/travel centered around the potential economic impact of the disruptions. One popular comment read, "This is going to cost the airlines millions. I wonder if ticket prices will go up to cover these losses?"
Meanwhile, Facebook groups dedicated to travel saw an influx of posts from affected passengers seeking advice and sharing their experiences. Many expressed concern about compensation for missed connections and hotel bookings.
The incident also reignited debates about the reliability of air travel infrastructure. Instagram influencer @TravelWithJane posted, "Today's events show how fragile our transportation system really is. We need better contingency plans!"
As the situation continues to unfold, social media remains a key platform for travelers to share updates, seek information, and voice their opinions on the airline industry's ability to handle such large-scale disruptions.
(With Inputs from Reuters)
