Queues at London Stansted Airport after IT outage

Customers faced long queues at London Stansted Airport due to a worldwide IT outage.

Disruptions have been reported across the globe, affecting airlines, media, and banks.

A London Stansted spokesperson said some check-ins and boarding processes were being carried out manually but “flights are operating as normal”.

The airport said its main operational systems were unaffected but some retail payment machine services had been impacted.

A London Stansted spokesperson said some check-in and boarding processes were taking “longer than usual” for affected airlines who needed to process passengers manually.

They added: “The majority of flights operating from the airport are unaffected, but the terminal is slightly busier than usual as a result of the situation.”

The airport advised passengers to check with their airline before leaving home.

Ryanair, which operates flights from the airport, advised passengers to arrive three hours before their scheduled departure time.

Some rail services were also affected.

Greater Anglia said some of its stations had been impacted.

The operator said some tickets are not working at electronic gates and it advised customers to factor in additional time.

c2c reported that servicers were running as normal, however there had been issues accessing its app.

It has not been confirmed if the problem was linked to the global outage.

Drivers using the Dartford Crossing are currently unable to make payments for crossings or top-up accounts.

A National Highways spokesperson said: “Please be assured we are monitoring the issue closely and considering the impacts on customers. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.”

Some GP surgeries, were also affected, with the outage affecting EMIS Web, a system which allows GPs to manage appointments, conduct consultations and update, store and share patient records.

Great Bentley Surgery in Tendring posted on Facebook and said it had been impacted.

It was unable to access patient records, medications, test results and prescriptions which it said “makes consultations very limited”.

It added: “If you still have an appointment at the surgery, you can still attend, but please be aware of the very limited service and it may be difficult to consult properly.”

Dr Katharine Patel, a GP at Mersea Island Medical Practice, told BBC Essex that the outage was affecting its appointments system.

“But within that it has individual patient consultation notes, details, blood results, communications from hospitals and other healthcare providers.”

She said there were a lot of issues at other practices around the Colchester and Tendring area.

Dr Patel said her surgery said some practices had access to a “very limited” back-up system, but many did not even have that.

She said the practice was doing what they could for patients and issuing paper prescriptions – but operating at about only 5% capacity.

“There’s a lot of work that we can’t do,” she added.

NHS Herts and West Essex Integrated Care Board (ICB) said a “handful” of GP practices in west Essex had been affected.

The ICB said measures, such as paper records and handwritten prescriptions, had been put in place.

Some pharmacies have also been unable to access digital prescriptions.

An NHS spokesperson said it was aware of an issue with EMIS that had caused “disruption in the majority of GP practices”.

“The NHS has long standing measures in place to manage the disruption, including using paper patient records and handwritten prescriptions, and the usual phone systems to contact your GP,” they said.

“There is currently no known impact on 999 or emergency services, so people should use these services as they usually would.

“Patients should attend appointments unless told otherwise. Only contact your GP if it’s urgent, and otherwise please use 111 online or call 111.”

Essex and Suffolk Water have also reported system issues.

It has asked customers to only contact them in an emergency.

Colchester Zoo had issues with card payments at its admission tills and within the zoo but services were back to normal by 11:30 BST.