The problems were first reported in Australia overnight with banks, supermarkets and airports among the companies reporting major disruption due to the outage, reportedly triggered by a faulty update to the CrowdStrike cybersecurity platform used by Microsoft.
But as Sweden woke up on Friday it became apparent that it too is affected by the issue. Windows users are reporting getting the notorious ‘blue screen of death’ error screens on their systems which are preventing them from carrying out their work as usual.
On Friday, public transport companies in multiple regions were having technical issues with their apps, with Örebro, Halland, Sörmland, Värmland, Blekinge, Kalmar and Kronoberg all affected. In the regions in question, travellers were unable to search for timetable information or buy tickets on the app, but were still able to buy tickets in-person.
Airline SAS wrote on its website that it was experiencing issues with its booking system.
“We are working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible,” the statement read.
READ MORE: European travel services hit by major global IT glitch
A SAS spokesperson told DR the airline was “fully operational, but we expect delays”.
Swedavia, who own the ten largest airports in Sweden, also reported issues on Friday.
“We are currently experiencing IT issues which are affecting check-in with some airlines,” the company wrote on its website. “For information on your journey, please contact your airline or travel agent.”
Those planning international travel should be aware that there are issues with major European airports, such as Berlin and Schiphol, as well as Spain’s airport company Aena, which manages 46 airports in Spain.
Major airlines like Swiss Air, Air India, Air France, Ryanair, Eurowings, Brussels Airlines and Lufthansa are also affected, with companies warning of possible delays and cancellations.
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Airlines advise that passengers arrive at the airport in good time.
“We advise all passengers to arrive at the airport at least 3 hours before their scheduled departure time,” Ryanair wrote on X.
A number of private companies, like insurance company Trygg-Hansa and car supply chain Biltema, also saw issues with their websites on Friday. Biltema also had issues with processing payments, as did the Åhlens chain of department stores and all Swedish football clubs in the Allsvenskan league.
The LKAB mine in Malmberget was evacuated shortly after lunchtime on Friday, according to Aftonbladet. LKAB’s head of press Anders Lindberg told the newspaper that the evacuation was a safety measure and that no one was in danger.
“We’re affected by the global IT outage,” Lindberg said. “As a safety precaution we have stopped all work below ground, but there is no immediate danger.”
Swedish radio P1 also had issues broadcasting programmes just before lunchtime on Friday, Aftonbladet reports, although the issue had been solved by noon.
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