SINGAPORE, July 19 (Bernama) -- Several businesses across Singapore have faced disruptions due to a global IT systems outage. At Changi Airport, flight delays have occurred, and the check-in process is being managed manually.
In its latest advisory at 7 pm, Changi Airport said the outage had affected more than 10 airlines.
“We have worked with our airport partners to bring in additional resources to support the manual check-in process,” it added.
Photos and videos on social media depicted long queues, the use of whiteboards for flight information, and staff distributing snacks and drinks to affected passengers.
Singapore Airlines (SIA) reported that while the outage did not affect flights, it disrupted reservation hotlines and services at its ION service centre. According to SIA’s latest advisory at 7 pm, those services have now returned to normal.
Meanwhile, its low-cost carrier Scoot said it is experiencing delays on some flights, as well as disruptions to its flight reservation system and check-in process.
The airline has activated additional staff at their check-in counters and advised customers to arrive at the airport at least three hours before their departure time.
Major media outlet The Straits Times (ST) has also been affected by the outage, updating the readers on the situation through its social media pages around 2.30 pm on Friday.
Singapore Post (SingPost) also updated its social media, reporting technical difficulties due to the widespread IT outage.
“Our team is working diligently to resolve the issue as quickly as possible,” it said.
Meanwhile, the Housing and Development Board (HDB) said about 185 or 10 per cent of carparks in HDB estates managed by one of its car park operators are affected by the IT outage.
“Contingency plans were activated, and the barrier arms of the affected parking gantries were lifted to allow motorists to enter and exit the carparks expeditiously,” it said on Facebook.
In addition, ground staff from the affected carpark operator have been deployed to assist motorists.
The car parks are gradually resuming normal operations.
Bernama contacted major banks and institutions in Singapore to assess the impact of the outage on their services.
Reports indicate that American cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike has identified one of its updates as the cause of the issue.
CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz stated that the company is actively working with affected customers to address a defect found in a single content update for Windows hosts.
“Mac and Linux hosts are not impacted. This is not a security incident or cyberattack. The issue has been identified, isolated and a fix has been deployed,” he said on X.
-- BERNAMA
