iStockA faulty software update by a global security firm sent much of the world into chaos on Friday leaving key infrastructure offline and affecting millions worldwide.
CrowdStrike said a fix to its software, installed in many Microsoft Windows devices, had begun rolling out by the afternoon.
But it’s not yet clear how long that will take and in the meantime Scots may face issues accessing the NHS, pharmacies, local authorities or even buying tickets at their favourite football club.
Which services in Scotland are affected by the IT outage?
Transport
Edinburgh Airport is among the worst affected in the industry in Scotland.
At one point its departure board froze and its automated boarding scanners stopped working.
Passengers have been told to leave the airport if their flight has been cancelled.
As of Friday afternoon, the airport was no longer accepting incoming flights unless they were already in the air leaving some passengers stranded.
Ryanair said its flights are being disrupted while BA said some of its services may be affected.
Glasgow and Aberdeen airports said they are largely unaffected by the outage.
ScotRail and the Caledonian Sleeper are also unaffected by the outage but other train companies which run through Scotland, such as TransPenine Express, Avanti West Coast and Lumo, may be experiencing issues.
NHS
NHS Ayrshire and Arran
Nicola Graham, director of infrastructure and support services, said: “A very small number of systems in NHS Ayrshire and Arran have been impacted by the global IT outage. The appropriate mitigations are in place to minimise disruption to services.
“NHS Ayrshire and Arran are continuing to monitor the situation.”
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said it had “robust contingency planning” in place in the event of any system outage.
It added: “We are currently monitoring the situation and while a very small number of systems have been impacted, appropriate mitigations are in place to avoid disruption to services.”
NHS Grampian
NHS Grampian said most of its services are running as normal except one GP practice, Holburn Medical Practice, in Aberdeen City which is experiencing IT issues.
NHS Tayside
NHS Tayside said a “very small” number of systems across the healthboard have been impacted, adding that “business continuity plans are in place and there has been no disruption to services”.
It said its BankStaff systems have been affected which means no bank or agency shifts can be booked or escalated online in the usual way.
“A temporary manual process is in place to book or escalate shifts,” they said.
NHS Western Isles
NHS Western Isles said a “small number” of its systems are affected but added there is “no current interruption to clinical services”.
Rowlands Pharmacy
Rowlands Pharmacy said its systems are experiencing “major technical problems” leaving the company with no working tills or computers.
A spokesperson added: “We can hand out prescriptions already ready but will not be able to make up new prescriptions.”
Local authorities
Falkirk Council
Falkirk council said its contact centre was affected for “a short period” in the morning but was restored by 9.30am.
“It did not impact any life-critical services,” the local authority said.
Midlothian Council
Midlothian Council said it is unable to accept card payments at its leisure centres “which may be because of the Microsoft outage”.
The rest of its services, it said, were working as normal.
North Lanarkshire Council
North Lanarkshire Council said there may be “potential issues” with card payments for some services operated by an external provider.
“The corporate council IT system currently remains unaffected,” a spokesperson said. “This is an emerging issue and we are monitoring the situation to understand the extent of the problem. All other services are operating as normal.”
Inverclyde Council
Inverclyde Council said its services were subject to “minor disruption” with its systems for managing and processing Penalty Charge Notices (PCN) and Residents’ Parking Permits currently affected.
“It is an ongoing matter and there is no timescale as yet for when the issue will be resolved,” it said.
“Further updates will be provided as soon as the problem has been fixed.”
Supermarkets, food and drink
SNS GroupMorrisons said on Friday morning that it was experiencing issues with its payments system while Wetherspoons customers will have to use cash due to problems with its network.
Ladbrokes also said it was impacted by the outage.
Asda, M&S, Waitrose, Tesco, Lidl and Iceland have said they are unaffected.
Football and rugby
The ticketing platform used by major football clubs is impacted by Friday’s IT outage.
Celtic, Hibernian and Hearts are postponing ticket sales due to disruption to their online systems.
Scottish Rugby has also delayed the sale of its 2024/25 season pass due to similar issues.
Sports fans are urged to check their teams’ social media accounts and websites for updates.
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