Changi Airport check-in operations back to normal for most affected airlines after global IT shutdown

Most affected airlines at Changi Airport have resumed normal check-in operations following a global IT systems crash on Jul. 19.

This was shared in a Jul. 20 update on Changi Airport's Facebook page.

"Check-in operations at Changi Airport have returned to normal for most airlines affected by yesterday’s situation," the airport wrote.

It noted that a "small number of airlines" will still require check-in to be handled manually, though it did not name those airlines.

"Changi Airport is supporting these airlines with additional resources. For passengers affected, we seek your patience and understanding", the airport added.

Budget carrier AirAsia's latest update at 7:30pm on Jul. 19 continues to advise guests to "expect delays for departures due to manual processing".

It advised travellers to monitor the status of their flights by checking their registered email and mobile phones for flight updates, or by checking the AirAsia website.

The airline added that travellers are highly encouraged to arrive at the airport early to clear manual check-in and to clear all travelling formalities.

Background

Changi Airport was affected by the Jul. 19 systems disruption which hit Microsoft's Windows operating systems worldwide.

It was linked to an issue with U.S. cybersecurity software firm CrowdStrike.

The outage reportedly hit airlines, banking systems and the media in countries like Japan, New Zealand, Australia and India.

More than 10 airlines at Changi Airport were affected, according to a previous update from the airport.

Singapore Airlines' (SIA) ION service centre in Singapore and reservation hotlines also faced issues as a result of the IT outage.

These services are now back to normal, SIA said.

Not a cyberattack: cybersecurity firm

Crowdstrike has publicly apologised for the disruption caused.

The company said in a Jul. 19 statement that the outage was caused by a defect found in a Falcon content update for Windows hosts.

It stressed that "this was not a cyberattack".

"We quickly identified the issue and deployed a fix, allowing us to focus diligently on restoring customer systems as our highest priority," their statement read.

Top image from Changi Airport / Facebook.