SNCB and Brussels Airport affected by major global IT breakdown

A worldwide IT outage caused by a software glitch affected SNCB travellers and several airlines in Belgium on Friday.

Would-be passengers of the Belgian railway operator were temporarily unable to buy tickets online, although SNCB said systems were gradually restored during the day.

“Since [Friday] morning, we’ve been facing a general IT problem,” spokesperson Bart Crols told BX1.

“But this does not affect train traffic. Our services are doing everything possible to solve the problem as soon as possible.”

As a result of the technical problem, SNCB said information on the website and the app, such as data on delays, track changes and crowded carriages, may not be up-to-date.

At Brussels Airport, the impact of the global computer malfunction was relatively limited, according to spokesperson Ihsane Chioua Lekhli.

“Our check-in system runs on Microsoft, but we have a fallback system,” Lekhli said. “As a result, some longer waiting times are possible here and there.”

Brussels Airlines reported on its website that users of the site or app may face technical problems loading their profile or retrieving their booking. Flights did not appear to be impacted on Friday morning.

Individuals and companies in Belgium, including banks, media companies and supermarkets, are also experiencing difficulties starting up their computers.

US tech giant Microsoft said it was taking “mitigating measures” while the problem is sorted out.

“[We remain] mobilised to manage this event with the highest priority and urgency, while continuing to address the ongoing impact to the remaining Microsoft 365 applications that are in a degraded state,” the company said in a statement.

The problem played out worldwide. Airlines such as American Airlines, Delta Airlines, Turkish Airlines, Air France, Ryanair, three Indian airlines and United Airlines also reported problems, along with airports in Berlin, Amsterdam-Schiphol and all those in Spain.

In the UK, the London Stock Exchange was also affected by a technical problem affecting its platform for disseminating information to the market, while the display of changes in the FTSE 100, its main index, was delayed at the opening.

Hong Kong airport was affected by the global blackout, with passengers stuck waiting to board their flights.

Zurich airport, Switzerland's largest, suspended several flights due to the global computer failure, but aircraft already en route were able to land.

Hospitals and several other sectors in the Netherlands announced on Friday that they had also been affected by the global computer breakdown, leading to the closure of an emergency department and the postponement of operations.

In Australia, where the outage also caused significant issues, a statement from the national cybersecurity coordinator said that “our current information indicates that this outage is related to a technical issue with a third-party software platform used by the affected businesses”.