Sky News Falls Off Air, U.S. Flights Grounded Amid Global Tech Meltdown Linked To Microsoft

Sky News suffered a major blackout in the UK on Friday morning amid global tech issues linked to Microsoft systems.

The Comcast-owned news channel was off air for around an hour, restoring a service just before 9am local time. Other international channels also suffered issues, including Sky News Australia, which is unconnected to the UK station.

Airlines, banks, and train operators have also been impacted. United, Delta, and American Airlines issued a “global ground stop” on all flights.

Microsoft said it was investigating issues that have prevented users from accessing apps and services. CrowdStrike, a major cybersecurity company, reportedly issued an antivirus update that looks to have created the issues for Microsoft systems.

Sky News viewers were greeted by the message: “We apologize for the interruption to this broadcast. We hope to restore the transmission of Sky News shortly.”

A spokesperson added: “Sky News has not been able to broadcast live TV this morning, we apologise for the interruption. All the news is still available online, on the Sky News app, website, and across our social media accounts. We are working hard to restore all services.”

The news channel returned just before 9am, but with a stripped-back studio, a lack of chyrons, and presenters apparently reading from printed papers rather than an autocue.

Earlier on Friday, a Sky News Australia reporter talked viewers through the issues, walking around a studio with dead screens.