Yorkshire airport and GPs hit by global IT chaos

Many businesses in Yorkshire have reported their card machines are not working, advising people bring cash

Leeds Bradford Airport is among the many businesses, GP surgeries, train services and shops across Yorkshire affected by global IT problems.

Cyber security firm Crowdstrike said the IT issues on Friday have been caused by a defect in a Microsoft update, adding it was not a security incident or cyberattack.

But it has left GPs across Yorkshire struggling to access records systems, and forecd some retailers to rely on cash payments due to card machines not working.

A spokesperson for Leeds Bradford Airport said that people should check with their airline before travelling.

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In a post on X (formerly Twitter), a spokesperson said: “We’re aware of a global IT outage. LBA is operating normally at this time.

“We advise you to arrive at the airport as normal, but check with your airlines before you travel.

“As a general piece of advice, we advise customers bring cash in case of any issues with their bank or payment providers throughout their journey.”

Elsewhere in West Yorkshire, Kirkstall Lane Medical Centre, in Leeds, and the Church Lane Surgery, in Brighouse, said they were experiencing problems with their IT systems on Friday.

Meanwhile, the B&Q store in Glasshoughton advised customers to bring cash.

Over in Bradford, the council said on Facebook that "some of our facilities (including sports centres and pools) are unable to take card payments at the moment", adding people should also bring cash if they are planning to use any facilities.

Bradford City AFC apologised as "our ticketing provider is currently being affected by a global IT outage, meaning our official ticketing website is down and all sales are suspended".

Sheffield City Hall also said it has been experiencing problems with online and in person card payments "due to the global Microsoft IT outage" and that their box office will be open until 16:00 BST for in person cash payments.

Meanwhile, North Yorkshire Council said its car park ticket machines, both on-street and off-street, were currently not accepting card payments, though people could still pay with cash or via parking apps.

The Pocklington Group Practice said it may need to cancel or rearrange appointments on Friday due to the IT problems as it was "currently unable to function as normal".

The Deans Garden Centre, Stockton on the Forest, added it was only accepting cash payments due to card machines being affected.

And TransPennine Express, which operates trains running at Yorkshire train stations including York, Leeds and Sheffield, advised people to "purchase tickets on board if you are unable to do so in stations".

Across the UK, almost 1,400 flights have been cancelled on Friday, and thousands of other GP surgeries and shops have been affected.

British TV channels Sky News and CBBC both experienced broadcasting issues as well, but they are now both back on air.

The boss of global cyber-security firm Crowdstrike, George Kurtz, said the problems were caused by a "defect" in a "content update" for Microsoft Windows devices.

He said: "Crowdstrike is actively working with customers impacted by a defect found in a single content update for Windows hosts.

"Mac and Linux hosts are not impacted. This is not a security incident or cyberattack.

"The issue has been identified, isolated and a fix has been deployed.

"We refer customers to the support portal for the latest updates and will continue to provide complete and continuous updates on our website."

Meanwhile, a Microsoft spokesperson said they were "aware of an issue affecting Windows devices due to an update from a third-party software platform" and added that "we anticipate a resolution is forthcoming".