Windows users around the world reported the notorious ‘blue screen of death’ error screens on their systems on Friday -an issue caused by a software update to the CrowdStrike security firm.

CrowdStrike’s CEO said in the early afternoon of Friday that the problem has been identified and a fix deployed, but it will take some time for systems and services to return to normal.

Here’s a look at the situation in France;

Airlines

The worst of the problems seem to be with air travel, with France’s transport minister Patrice Vergriete saying that the disruption “was limited to certain airlines and airports”.

The budget airline Ryanair said it was having problems ‘across the network’ and advised anyone travelling with the airline today to arrive at the airport at least three hours before their scheduled departure time. Online check-in systems for passengers have also been hit.

French carrier Air France says it has been affected by issues including with check-in, which is causing serious disruption. Air France added that flights already on course are not affected.

The German budget carrier Eurowings is also experiencing problems while the Dutch airline KLM says it has been forced to suspend flights, saying that the IT problems make it “impossible to manage flights”.

Paris’ Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports – the main entry points for athletes arriving for the Olympics – say they are not directly affected by the problems, but that several airlines using the airport are affected.

The airport operator said that this had led to “a slowdown in check-in, delays and temporary suspension of certain flight schedules” adding that staff were mobilised to assist passengers. By early evening, the airport said things were “on the way to returning to normal”.

There were also reports of delayed take-offs at Lyon’s Saint-Exupéry airport and Marseille-Provence airport.

Multiple European airports including Berlin, Frankfurt and Amsterdam’s Schipol experienced major disruption and in the United States flights were also grounded.

Anyone due to fly on Friday is advised to check with their airline before travelling to the airport.

READ ALSO You rights on delayed or cancelled flights in France

Rail and Metro

The French rail operator SNCF says that its operations have not been affected, likewise the Paris public transport operator RATP says that all bus, Metro, tram and RER services are running as normal.

Ferries

The Port of Calais reported difficulties with Irish Ferries services caused by the IT issues. Passengers at Calais reported long delays on Friday morning.

@Irish_Ferries #calais #irishferries
Mayhem at Calais. Customers being told by port staff to boom with other companies.

Long long queues for Irish ferries check in pic.twitter.com/4PCxoJArTJ

— Sam Berry (@berrs003) July 19, 2024

Irish Ferries said in the late morning that it believed the issue had been fixed.

Paris Olympics

The Paris 2024 Olympics team said that their systems had been affected by the outage, adding that they had activated contingency plans.

Organising committee president Tony Estanguet said that critical IT systems had not been hit but “for operations on the ground, to welcome new athletes, to welcome all the delegations, to issue accreditations, it slows down our operations.”

Ticket sales and the ongoing Olympic torch relay were not affected, the Olympics information app and ticket app both appeared to be working normally on Friday.

Disneyland Paris

Disneyland remained open but numerous electronic display screens at the park were showing error messages on Friday morning.

TV

The French TV channels TF1 and Canal Plus say they have been affected by the problems and are not able to put out their usual programming on Friday. In the UK the news channel Sky was off the air.

Phones

The phone network Bouygues Telecom said on Friday morning that its customer service lines were not available, although the problems have not affected the phone network itself.