A widespread outage due to a failing update at Microsoft Azure’s cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike has caused significant disruptions worldwide. The impact is being felt across various sectors, including airports, stock exchanges, banks, energy companies, media firms, and industries. In Spain, key institutions like Microsoft, AENA (which manages 46 of the 51 Spanish airports), Repsol petrol stations, and Ryanair are among the affected.
The public healthcare system in the Basque Country also reported issues, alongside errors in Amazon systems and social networks like Twitter and Instagram.
Airports under pressure
On this busy Friday in the tourist season, the outage has caused delays in AENA systems at airports such as Madrid, Málaga, and Palma de Mallorca. Airlines like Iberia and Ryanair are resorting to manual operations to manage the situation. Travellers are advised to arrive at the airport three hours before their flight. Long queues, stretching up to 400 metres, have been reported at Madrid-Barajas and Barcelona-El Prat. AENA confirmed that all Spanish airports are experiencing disruptions due to the global outage, primarily affecting check-in procedures. While some systems are being restored, operations remain slow in several areas.
Aena recupera de forma progresiva los sistemas tras una incidencia informática mundial.
➡️ Todos los aeropuertos de la red en España están operativos y los vuelos se están operando en colaboración con las aerolíneas.
➡️ La programación del día se está cumpliendo aunque con… https://t.co/idT4uY6r0r pic.twitter.com/RXq0RNg020
— Aena (@aena) July 19, 2024
Banking sector’s resilience
Spanish banks report minimal impact from the outage so far, with card payments and online transactions continuing unaffected. Redsys, the payment intermediary platform, confirmed that major banks like BBVA and Unicaja have not reported significant issues, although 20Minutos indicated these banks are experiencing some operational challenges.
Critical infrastructure status
El Mundo reported no immediate impacts on critical infrastructures such as gas tanks or refineries. Enagas confirmed it had not installed the affected software but is conducting a detailed analysis to prevent potential repercussions.
Other affected services
Madrid’s public transport service EMT and public bike service BiciMAd, Catalonia’s emergency number 061, and several hospital appointment systems are facing disruptions. Additionally, there are reports of issues with Visa card payments and Bizum. The comprehensive list of affected companies in Spain based on information from Downdetector includes:
- AENA
- Movistar
- Unicaja
- Vueling
- VISA
- Kutxabank
- Correos
- Ibercaja
- Bwin
- Amazon Web Services and Amazon
- Santander España
- Spotify
- X (Twitter)
- ChatGPT
- ING Direct
- Banco Sabadell
- Telegram
- Ryanair
- Jazztell
- Simyo
- Lowi
- Orange
- DigiMovil