Dutch airline KLM said that a global computer outage has made “flight handling impossible” and is largely suspending its operations.
Airlines and airports around the globe have been affected by IT problems.
“KLM and other airlines and airports have been affected by a global computer outage, making flight handling impossible,” the airline said in a statement.
“We realize that this is very inconvenient for our customers and staff, particularly in the midst of the summer holiday season.
“We’re working hard to resolve the problem. Until then, we will have to suspend operations largely.”
In the United States, the Federal Aviation Administration has stopped flights by major airlines United, American and Delta.
German airports in Berlin, Hamburg, Stuttgart, Cologne-Bonn and Nuremberg reported various degrees of service disruptions.
In a related development, several television channels in France have also been affected by a major computer outage wreaking technical havoc worldwide.
Canal+, a French TV station has informed its subscribers that it is suffering from the effects of an IT breakdown that is preventing the broadcast of its regular programmes.
The television channel TF1 has also been hit. A French presenter said during the programme that the channel could not broadcast everything as usual.
For instance, no maps for the weather report could be shown. (dpa/NAN)
