GLOBAL IT OUTAGE COSTS AIRLINES MILLIONS; INDUSTRY NEEDS ANSWERS - TONY FERNANDES

KUALA LUMPUR, July 20 (Bernama) -- The global IT outage has caused airlines to lose millions in revenue and has created chaos in people’s lives due to system failure, said Capital A Bhd chief executive officer (CEO) Tan Sri Tony Fernandes. 

Fernandes acknowledged CrowdStrike's apology but emphasised that airlines are still waiting for an explanation from Microsoft about the incident.

“Tech companies have little empathy. What we went through with COVID-19, they had no sympathy. Now they have issues and expect us all to understand. Well, I’m not going to. Airlines need answers and compensation,” he said in a LinkedIn post today.

CrowdStrike Holdings Inc, an American cybersecurity technology company based in Austin, Texas, provides endpoint protection, threat intelligence and cyberattack response services.

Despite the chaos, Fernandes highlighted the importance of learning and growing from the situation.

Explaining further on the disruption, he said the situation seems to have stabilised on the second day of the global IT outage affecting AirAsia’s operations at Terminal 2 of Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

“But we are not letting our guard down. We stand ready for any further disruption,” he said.

Fernandes said the airline has been managing operations manually, including check-ins, printing boarding passes and baggage drop-offs, with over 100 Allstar volunteers assisting on the ground.

“This reminds me of our early days 23 years ago when everything was done manually. We are proud that we have minimised flight cancellations due to our agility in switching to manual operations and our sincere commitment to serve the people,” he added.

Despite some delays, Fernandes assured that AirAsia is determined to transport everyone safely to their destinations.

“Huge thanks to our guests who have been patient and appreciative of our efforts throughout this ordeal,” he said.

AirAsia resumed its online check-in operations at 2 pm today, following the global IT glitch that began yesterday afternoon.

Responding to Fernandes’ post, Muhammad Rafay Ahmed Khan commented, “Just dropped my wife and kid at KLIA 2, everything seems back to normal now. Great service by AirAsia, kudos Tony Fernandes.”

Another user, Kushagra Varshney, praised the team’s crisis management, stating, “Amazing to see your team managing this crisis with empathy and commitment. Also, a pertinent point raised by Tony Fernandes—when IT system failures cause financial loss and disrupt people's lives, what redressals do IT companies provide?”

Similarly, Umar Dani Mochlis Moktar noted, “Impressive action from your team. This incident makes us wonder how easily a single system can disrupt the entire world.”

Earlier on Friday, major institutions, including airlines, banks, media channels and hospitals in several countries, were reportedly affected by the global IT outage linked to CrowdStrike.

-- BERNAMA