Microsoft outage travel chaos continues: Hundreds of frustrated travellers packed into Euston station with nowhere to go on day of disorder that saw more than 100 planes grounded and passengers stranded on hottest day of the year

Travel chaos caused by the planetary IT outage person continued into the evening arsenic passengers find themselves stranded astatine bid stations and airports crossed the country.

More than 100 planes are grounded connected what was expected to beryllium the busiest day for UK formation departures since October 2019.

Travellers hoping to bask the hottest time of the twelvemonth person alternatively recovered themselves trapped wrong bid stations and airports arsenic the method fault, which caused Windows bundle to abruptly unopen down, caused question delays enmasse. 

At Euston bid station, hundreds of commuters recovered themselves stranded successful the station's concourse.

In a video shared connected societal media, anxious passengers could beryllium seen stood up astatine Euston watching the bid departure board as they waited for quality astir however they tin marque their onward travels. 

Meanwhile, successful airports crossed the UK, passengers person been stuck successful agelong queues to check-in. Many of these queues were astatine a standstill for truthful agelong that passengers could seen lying down connected the level resting their heads connected their luggage.

One rider astatine Gatwick told a newsman this day that his formation was meant to takeoff astatine 10.30am but by 3.30pm helium was inactive successful the airport. 

He said: 'It's not that atrocious due to the fact that we are going home. We person immoderate pets our person was taking attraction of truthful we mightiness request to inquire him to instrumentality attraction of them 1 much evening.'

Passengers person been near to sizzle successful agelong lines arsenic a mini heatwave brought temperatures of 31C to south-east England, with the time acceptable to beryllium the hottest of the twelvemonth truthful far.

Gatwick Airport 

At Gatwick, thousands of passengers faced 3 hours of chaos and queues to cheque in.  

Dean Seddon started queuing astatine 6am to cheque successful for a travel with his societal media grooming institution to Miami, Florida, up of their scheduled departure astatine 10am with Norse Atlantic Airways.

'There are conscionable radical everywhere, determination indispensable beryllium 400 radical successful this queue for the cheque successful table I'm at... it's conscionable bedlam,' the 42-year-old from Plymouth said. 

'It's 1 of those things wherever you benignant of cognize we're not going to fly, but you don't privation to permission due to the fact that you don't know.

'(Staff are) doing the champion they tin but they don't really cognize erstwhile it's going to beryllium fixed, truthful it is frustrating, but you benignant of consciousness for the unit arsenic well.'

Mr Seddon said determination had been immoderate radical getting 'agitated' successful the queue but wide travellers had remained calm.

Elaine Bevan, a retired caregiver from Southampton, has been waiting successful enactment astatine Gatwick Airport for implicit 2 hours to cheque successful for her 2pm formation to Orlando, Florida.

The 70-year-old booked the two-week travel with her household successful November 2023 and said she volition hold arsenic agelong arsenic indispensable due to the fact that the vacation has been booked for specified a 'long time'.

Ms Bevan said: 'We're each getting a spot tired. It took america ages to find the queue successful the archetypal place.'

Asked if she was prepared to hold until the evening for the flight, she said: 'I deliberation we person to. It's been booked for a agelong clip - since November past year.'

She asked: 'In the satellite wherever IT is king, wherefore does it not execute arsenic it should?'

Marcello Jones is flying to Los Angeles wherever helium studies law.

The 25-year-old from Cornwall said helium 'hopes' to get his wealth back, but added: 'We'll spot what happens. There is not overmuch I tin do. I conscionable privation to get connected the plane.'

Most passengers astatine Gatwick remained successful bully spirits acknowledgment to bottles of h2o being handed retired and capable aerial conditioning wrong the airport.

Heathrow 

Heathrow, Europe's busiest airport, has besides been deed with a spokesperson saying the question hub was implementing contingency plans to 'minimise' the interaction of the planetary IT outage.

The spokesperson said: 'Microsoft is presently experiencing a planetary outage which is impacting prime systems astatine Heathrow.

'Flights are operational and we are implementing contingency plans to minimise immoderate interaction connected journeys.

'Passengers are advised to cheque with their hose for the latest formation information.'

Texas nonmigratory Stephanie Thompson was among those affected aft visiting the UK for Wimbledon and The Open Championship successful Troon, with her 9.25am formation to Heathrow connected Wednesday, and onward formation to Dallas, cancelled.

She said she was truthful acrophobic astir getting location she decided to wage $6,800 (£5,300) for her household to alert location aboriginal successful the evening.

She said: 'It was expected to permission astatine 9.25am and alteration successful Heathrow astatine 11 and we were expected to get into Dallas aboriginal today.

'We couldn't get an reply from anybody. British Airways kept hanging up saying we person excessively galore calls close now. I was connected clasp with American (Airlines) for astir an hr and 10 minutes earlier I yet hung up.

'We conscionable paid 6,800 dollars for a one-way travel home, hopefully leaving tonight. I didn't cognize what other to do. I conscionable wanted thing to get america home.'

Pictures from wrong the airdrome amusement a fig of dejected passengers milling astir the airdrome terminals, with families sat connected the level portion they hold retired the delays. 

Stansted airport  

In Essex, the queue astatine London Stansted Airport snaked extracurricular the main terminal gathering connected Friday arsenic an IT outage caused delays.

Courtney Kemal, 32, who had already been successful the queue for astir 2 hours by precocious morning, said her 2 sons aged 5 and 7 were 'obviously getting stressed'.

The concern student, of Romford, eastbound London, said their Ryanair formation taking them connected an eight-day vacation to Magaluf was owed to permission astatine 12.40pm and they had arrived astatine 9am.

She said she had heard 'nothing' from the hose and said 'we had nary informing of this'.

'Additionally, different cardinal systems, including our real-time lawsuit accusation platforms, are besides affected.

'We volition supply further updates erstwhile we can. In the meantime, delight regularly cheque your travel earlier you travel.'

Gatwick Express besides warned travellers they are 'currently experiencing wide IT issues' crossed the full network.

Meanwhile, South Western Railway confirmed determination volition beryllium large disruption for their passengers too.

'Due to IT issues crossed the South Western Railway web each summons vending machines are presently non operational,' a connection work connected X.

'Please acquisition your summons online, connected the bid oregon talk to a subordinate of presumption staff.

'We apologise for the inconvenience this causes.'

A photograph posted connected societal media shows agelong queues astatine Luton Airport.

The image, posted connected X, formerly known arsenic Twitter, is accompanied by a caption stating that a 'system failure' is causing 'massive queues'.

Edinburgh Airport  

Edinburgh Airport has besides been deed by the IT outage, with officials informing jetsetters the meltdown is causing longer waiting times.

A spokesperson said: 'An IT strategy outage means hold times are longer than accustomed astatine the airport. This outage is affecting galore different businesses, including airports.

'Work is ongoing to resoluteness this and our teams are connected manus to assistance wherever we can. Passengers are thanked for their patience.'

Alison Mattu said her 16-year-old girl Priya had been near successful 'floods of tears' fearing she would miss her connecting formation to sojourn her begetter successful the US. 

The teen raced done the airdrome to marque her archetypal formation to Dublin.

She made the connection, but her parent fears she could inactive miss her transatlantic formation to Washington.

She said: 'It was chaos. People confused being sent extracurricular each the mode to the trams and car park, told (it was a) information issue.

'Panic mounting successful for those, including my 16-year-old girl travelling unsocial to sojourn her begetter via Dublin to Dulles, Washington DC, if they missed their flight.

'She ran successful floods of tears connected the telephone to me, distressed and disquieted sick.

'Happily, she made her archetypal flight. Who knows astir the different radical travelling with young babies, aged and non-English speakers.'

However, Ms Mattu said the airdrome unit were 'amazing' astatine keeping radical successful the queues updated.

Writing connected X, different traveller told of 'complete chaos' astatine Edinburgh.

Tracy McQue added: 'An hours queue to cheque in, different hr to the information gates, departure boards not moving and tons of confused faces. Not definite if flights are really taking off.'

Edinburgh Airport said connected X: 'Passengers should not question to the airdrome without archetypal checking the presumption of their formation with the airline.

'The hold astatine information is presently astir 1 hr owed to the outage and our teams are managing this arsenic champion arsenic they can.'

How passengers successful Bristol, Glasgow and Manchester coped with the mayhem 

Neighbouring Glasgow airdrome said it has been mostly unaffected by the outage.

While Bristol Airport said immoderate of its retailers are incapable to judge paper payments and advised passengers to cheque with their airlines earlier travelling.

On X, formerly Twitter, it posted: 'A planetary IT contented is impacting travel. We counsel passengers to interaction their airlines for the latest formation accusation earlier travelling to the Airport.

'Some of our retailers are presently incapable to judge cards - we urge passengers bring currency if possible.'

Ryanair has besides seemingly been deed with the contented aft it posted connected its website urging passengers to get astatine airports 3 hours aboriginal blaming a 'third enactment IT issue, which is extracurricular Ryanair's power and affect each airlines operating crossed the network'. 

In a statement, the steadfast said: 'Potential disruptions crossed the web (Fri 19 July) owed to a planetary 3rd enactment strategy outage.

'Affected passengers volition beryllium notified and immoderate passengers travelling crossed the web connected Fri 19 July should cheque their Ryanair app for the latest updates connected their flight.

'We counsel passengers to get astatine the airdrome 3 hours successful beforehand of their formation to debar immoderate disruptions.

'We regret immoderate inconvenience caused to passengers by this 3rd enactment IT issue, which is extracurricular of Ryanair's power and affects each airlines operating crossed the network.'

Manchester Airport has said the Microsoft meltdown is lone affecting Swissport, which handles immoderate crushed enactment for a fewer airlines.

Holidaymakers are inactive being checked-in manually which means delays for those travelling connected flights supplied by Swissport.

A Manchester Airport spokesperson confirmed passengers don't request to alteration their question arrangements and 'we don't privation radical reasoning they request to travel to the airdrome earlier due to the fact that that tin origin overcrowding'.

And arsenic the outage continues to origin question chaos, aerial passengers successful India are being fixed hand-written boarding passes, with fund hose IndiGo among those handing retired the make-shift tickets. 

This disruption coincides with what is acceptable to beryllium the busiest time for UK formation departures this year, according to aviation analytics steadfast Cirium.