Qatar Airways, vital sectors in Qatar not affected by global IT outage

Published: 20 July 2024

NT Bureau
Doha

The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology said in a joint statement with the Cybersecurity Agency that vital sectors in the country were not affected by the global IT outage.

It also called on institutions in the State of Qatar to exercise caution when updating any systems related to the company’s software until the problem is resolved.

Qatar Airways also said its operations were not affected by the outage.

Air passengers across the Arabian Gulf and around the world faced delays, cancellations and problems checking in as airports and airlines were caught up in a massive IT outage that also affected industries ranging from banks to media companies.

While some airports and airlines continued to work with basic systems, some even relied on pens and paper, and others said they couldn’t operate flights until the issue was solved.

Despite the widespread impact, Hamad International Airport and Qatar Airways remained unaffected by the international outage.

Qatar Airways said on its official X account, “Qatar Airways is aware of the IT outage affecting flights internationally. This issue has not impacted Qatar Airways flight operations as of yet, however, passengers are advised to check the status of their flight.”

Meanwhile, Dubai International Airport, one of the busiest hubs, reported that it had resumed normal operations after the outage. The airport’s operator confirmed that the disruption had impacted some airlines operating from Terminals 1 and 2.

However, the check-in process was quickly switched to an alternative system, allowing normal operations to resume swiftly. Despite the initial chaos, quick responses from airport operators mitigated the overall impact of the outage on global air travel.

In Saudi Arabia’s capital city Riyadh, King Khalid International Airport reported disruptions on some flights, prompting authorities to set up a plan to use alternative systems.

The airport urged passengers to contact airlines before heading to the airport.

Etihad Airways, which operates from Abu Dhabi’s Zayed International Airport, similarly said it was operating normally but that there could be limited delays across its network.