'Rapidly evolving situation': Birmingham Airport check-ins affected by global IT outage

GP booking systems and train services have also been affected by the widespread issues.

A spokeswoman for Birmingham Airport said on Friday morning that while the "majority of flights" were operating as normal, there were some issues at passenger check-ins.

A statement read: "Some check-ins are experiencing delays which are being processed by colleagues. Those that have checked in online previously are unaffected.

“This is clearly a rapidly evolving situation. Customers should follow the advice from airlines and we will continue to update passengers throughout the day.”

In an update at about 3pm, the airport said some airlines were still using a manual check-in process.

The statement read: "Following the IT outage earlier today the majority of our flights are operating as normal but some airlines are still using a manual check-in process.

"For customers travelling today please continue to check the status of your flight with your airline and turn up in line with your check opening time."

Several airlines which operate out of the airport warned passengers of possible delays throughout the day – with some advising them to arriving early.

In a statement to X, formerly Twitter, Ryanair said: "We are currently experiencing disruption across the network due to a global third-party IT outage which is out of our control.

"We advise all passengers to arrive at the airport at least three hours before their scheduled departure time.

"If you're due to travel today and have not already checked in for your flight, you can do so at the airport. We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused as a result of this global third-party IT outage."

Tui also warned of "longer wait times" and said the IT problem was impacting its "automated check-in process" at airports and cruise ports.

A statement read: "Due to a global IT glitch affecting Windows computers and servers, Tui's overall service level is impacted today.

"This outage also applies to partner systems like the automated check-in process at airports or cruise ports.

"Tui and its partners area aware of the situation and are working hard to resolve the issues. In the meantime, most of our processes can be covered manually."

The airline went on to warn passengers of longer-waiting times but said customers should travel to their airport "as normal" unless they are told otherwise.

Wizz Air, which also flies out of Birmingham Airport, asked passengers to arrive "at least three hours" before their flights.

It said a number of its online services weren't available due to the technical issue, including its website and mobile app, booking system, online check-in, display of boarding passes and parts of its contact centres.

Writing to passengers on X, Air France said its operations were "close to normal" but warned of disruption to certain flights including to Amsterdam and Berlin.

Meanwhile, West Midlands Railway warned passengers to check their journeys before travelling as it was one of more than a dozen train operators hit by the IT issues.

The regional railway company said on Friday morning that although customer-facing services were "not currently affected" by the problem, some of its "back office" IT systems were "temporarily unavailable".

It is among a growing number of train operators to have been affected by the IT issues which National Rail said has created problems across the "entire network".

A West Midlands Railway spokesman said: "Due to an ongoing IT issue, some back office systems are temporarily unavailable.

"Train services are not currently affected by this issue but customers are advised to check their journeys before travelling."

Some of the other train operators affected by the issues include Avanti West Coast, Transport for Wales and London Northwestern Railway, which run services through the West Midlands.

In a statement to its website at about 8.30am, National Rail warned that passengers could face short-notice train cancellations as a result of the issues.

The statement read: "IT teams are actively investigating to determine the root cause of the problem.

"As a result, some train operators are unable to access driver diagrams at certain locations, leading to potential short-notice train cancellations.

"Additionally, other key systems, including real-time customer information platforms, are also affected.

"Please check back for updates. In the meantime, please regularly check your journey before you travel."

Other affected train operators include Gatwick Express, Great Northern, Great Western Railway, Hull Trains, Lumo, Northern, Southern, Thameslink, TransPennine Express, c2c and Merseyrail.

NHS England has also warned patients of disruption at "the majority" of GP practices.

An NHS spokesperson said: “The NHS is aware of a global IT outage and an issue with EMIS, an appointment and patient record system.

“The NHS has long standing measures in place to manage the disruption, including using paper patient records and handwritten prescriptions, and the usual phone systems to contact your GP.

“There is currently no known impact on 999 or emergency services, so people should use these services as they usually would.

“Patients should attend appointments unless told otherwise. Only contact your GP if it’s urgent, and otherwise please use 111 online or call 111."

Around the world banks, supermarkets and other major institutions have also reporter computer issues disrupting services, with some airlines warning of delays and some airports grounding flights.

A spokeswoman for Sainsbury's however confirmed on Friday morning it had not been affected by the technical issues.

A statement read: "We're not seeing any impact to our stores but continue to closely monitor the situation."

Marks and Spencer also said it was not experiencing issues as a result of the IT problems.

A spokeswoman for the retailer said: "Customers can be reassured that all our stores are trading as normal and they can continue to shop on M&S.com as usual."

Waitrose said it was now taking contactless payments "largely as normal" but was briefly limited on them.

A spokesman for the supermarket said: "Waitrose [is] now taking contactless payments largely as normal, as well as still processing payments by Chip and PIN and cash.

"We’re also continuing to take orders via Waitrose.com. For clarity, we have been able to take card payments through the day - we were just briefly limited on contactless payments.

"Chip & PIN and cash were available though. John Lewis was not impacted by this issue."