LONDON: British holidaymakers have been warned of potential travel disruption this weekend as UK transport networks continue to feel the impact of Friday’s global IT outage.
Flight delays and cancellations are among the disruption expected to continue into the weekend after the outage, with experts warning it could take weeks for systems to fully recover, reported PA Media.
“If you are heading off on holiday this weekend – by whatever means – it’s advisable to check with your travel provider if there are any extra steps you need to take, as some businesses are continuing to feel the impact of Friday’s IT outage,“ travel association Abta said.
The Port of Dover, a transit point to France and continental Europe, said early on Saturday that it was dealing with “hundreds of displaced” airport passengers and urged customers to ensure they had a booking before arrival.
Chief executive Doug Bannister said the port was expecting more than 10,000 cars on Saturday, up from 8,000 the day before.
Bannister confirmed the port remained unaffected by the IT outage, adding travellers were able to get to their destinations on time and without disruption throughout Friday.
A flawed update rolled out by CrowdStrike, one of the world’s largest cybersecurity providers, knocked many businesses offline around the world on Friday, causing flight and train cancellations and crippling some healthcare systems.
CrowdStrike chief executive George Kurtz said he was “deeply sorry” for the situation and said CrowdStrike was “actively working” with those impacted.
Industry expert Adam Leon Smith of BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT, warned it could take “weeks” for all computers and systems to be fully restored, while Kurtz said it would take “some time”. – Bernama, PA Media/dpa