Europe’s largest travel company, TUI, has been forced to cancel numerous flights and package holidays, affecting thousands of travellers due to a severe global IT outage that began on Friday. The disruption, caused by issues with the CrowdStrike system, has hit hardest at Manchester airport, with ongoing problems at other major airports like Gatwick.
The crisis unfolded when TUI’s crew rostering system failed, leading to the grounding of 64-holiday flights to and from the UK on Friday. Despite efforts to manage the situation, delays and cancellations continued through the weekend, with the company taking the drastic step of cancelling entire package holidays.
On Sunday morning, passengers bound for Lanzarote from Manchester discovered their flights—and holidays—were cancelled just hours before their scheduled departure. One passenger recounted being forced to rebook with another airline at the last minute, adding to the chaos and frustration at the airport.
In a particularly severe incident, passengers scheduled to fly from Manchester to Cancun were informed of the cancellation of their flight after an eight-hour delay. TUI decided to redeploy the aircraft to Palma de Mallorca in a bid to manage the logistical nightmare, leaving travellers without a pilot as crew members exceeded their legally regulated work hours.
TUI has issued an apology for the disruption, citing the IT outage as beyond their control but acknowledging that the impact was severe. “We understand how disappointing this would have been, especially for those already at the airport,” a TUI spokesperson said. The company is now scrambling to accommodate affected passengers, offering rebooking options and handling the logistical challenges of returning travellers to the UK.
The global IT issue, linked to a faulty update from CrowdStrike that affected 8.5 million computers running Windows, also caused widespread disruptions in other sectors, including banking and public transportation across the world.
Other airlines like British Airways and easyJet also experienced cancellations and delays, primarily at London Heathrow and Gatwick airports, further compounded by adverse weather conditions in Continental Europe and severe air-traffic control restrictions.
To assist stranded and affected passengers, airlines are offering accommodations, meal vouchers, and alternative travel arrangements in accordance with EU air passenger rights regulations.
The ongoing IT issues continue to affect various travel plans, with further updates and recovery tools being released by Microsoft and CrowdStrike to address the disruptions. Meanwhile, travellers are advised to check the status of their flights and accommodations frequently and consider alternative arrangements as the situation evolves.
