Businesses across Europe – including airports, airlines and other transport operators – were on Friday hit by major IT problems which appear to be caused by a rogue software update.
The problems were first reported in Australia overnight with banks, supermarkets and airports among the companies reporting major disruption due to IT problems. These later became apparent across Europe, including in Denmark.
Windows users reporting getting the notorious ‘blue screen of death’ error screens on their systems which prevented them from carrying out their work – a problem caused by a software update on the CrowdStrike security platform.
CrowdStrike’s CEO says the problem has now been identified and a fix deployed, but it’s likely that knock-on disruption could continue for some time.
The air travel industry has been particularly badly hit.
READ ALSO: European travel services hit by major global IT glitch
Denmark’s police Centre for Cyber Security (Center for Cybersikkerhed, CFCS) said in a post on social media X that it is “naturally following this situation closely”.
“CFCS is aware that there are currently several issues with certain Windows clients. This is likely due to a bug in an update to the Crowdstrike Falcon security program,” it also wrote.
Danish national rail operator DSB reported to broadcaster DR just before 10am that its websites are down and unable to provide travel information or ticket sales.
Trains were still running on schedule and passengers can still use the DSB and Rejseplanen apps, however.
Copenhagen’s fire service, Hovedstadens Beredskab, stated on X that it was experiencing problems receiving automatic fire alarms, known as ABA alarms.
These are usually automatically sent directly to the service’s alarm switchboard if a fire detector at, for example, a large company or building detects smoke. Between 10 and 20 ABA alarms are usually activated per day according to news wire Ritzau.
As such, any fire should be reported by phone using the 112 emergency line, the service said.
The National Police (Rigspolitiet) was unaffected, it said in a post on X.
“You can still contact the police on the 114 [non-emergency, ed.] and 112 numbers,” it said.
Publisher Berlingske Media – which owns the Berlingske, BT and Weekendavisen newspapers, told Mediawatch that it was also seeing IT issues.
Copenhagen Airport reported problems related to check-in, and resorted to checking passengers in manually, it told DR.
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.
A SAS spokesperson told DR the airline was “fully operational, but we expect delays”.
Those planning international travel should be aware that there are issues with major European airports, such as Berlin and Schiphol, Spain’s airport company Aena, which manages 46 airports in Spain, as well as major airlines like Ryanair and Brussels Airlines. It’s a good idea to bear this in mind and arrive at the airport in good time.
Budget airline Ryanair said in a social media post it had ‘problems across the network’ and advised passengers to arrive early at airports.
Billund Airport, after earlier saying it was unaffected, also confirmed delays.
“These are very much the same problems as at Copenhagen Airport. It’s taking a little longer because some passengers have to be checked in manually, but things seem to be running well,” Billund’s head of press relations Dan Prangsgaard told Ritzau.
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