Normalcy Returns to Indian Airports After Major Tech Outage Disruption

Indian airports' airline systems are back to normal after a severe Microsoft Windows outage linked to a CrowdStrike update. The civil aviation minister stated operations resumed at 3 AM and are now smooth. Efforts continue to clear the backlog caused by Friday's disruptions.

Indian airports are back to normal operations after a severe outage disrupted airline systems across the country. The Minister of Civil Aviation, Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu, confirmed the news in an official notice on Saturday, stating that systems resumed normal functioning as of 3 AM. 'Since 3 AM in the night, airline systems across airports have started working normally. Flight operations are going smoothly now. There is a backlog because of disruptions yesterday and it is getting cleared gradually. By noon today, we expect all issues to be resolved. We are constantly monitoring the operations at our airports and also with the airlines ensuring travel readjustments and refunds are taken care of. We thank you for your patience,' said the minister.

The disruption began on Friday and was attributed to a severe outage impacting Microsoft Windows systems. The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) addressed the issue, stating that the latest update of the CrowdStrike agent, Falcon Sensor, was the cause. This update led to system crashes and the 'Blue Screen of Death' (BSOD), affecting many Windows hosts equipped with the CrowdStrike Falcon Sensor.

CrowdStrike has since rolled back the changes made in the recent update. For systems still experiencing crashes, CERT-In recommended mitigation steps. Union Minister for Information Technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw, assured the public that the government was in close contact with Microsoft to address the issue. 'MEITY is in touch with Microsoft and its associates regarding the global outage. The reason for this outage has been identified and updates have been released to resolve the issue. CERT is issuing a technical advisory. The NIC network is not affected,' said the minister on Friday. Microsoft also acknowledged the outage affecting its online services globally, including in India.

Microsoft's latest update reported continuous improvements in its services. The resumption of normal airline operations comes as a relief to many travelers who faced significant delays and disruptions due to the system outage.

(With inputs from agencies.)