IT outage hits Merseyrail, Avanti and TransPennine passengers

A worldwide IT outrage is causing problems for rail passengers, patients and football fans.

Passengers on Merseyrail, Avanti West Coast and TransPennine Express trains were hit by delays caused by problems with Microsoft.

Staff at Liverpool John Lennon Airport are having to do manual check-in of passengers while Manchester Airport also experienced some delays.

While Premier League giants Manchester United said it had to delay selling tickets and Championship side Blackburn Rovers also said it had problems with tickets.

Merseyrail warned passengers of delays in Liverpool and Merseyside.

A spokesperson said: “Due to a Microsoft outage, we are currently experiencing a technical issue which is affecting our passenger information boards and our ability to print third party tickets at stations.

“Some delays across the network might not be displayed.

“We are working hard to fix this issue.”

Train operator TransPennine Express (TPE) warned passengers it had also been affected by the IT outage.

It said: “Please be aware that some TPE stations and systems are having IT issues.

“Please purchase tickets on board if you are unable to do so in stations.”

A spokesman for Liverpool John Lennon Airport said: “We are seeing an impact, it is affecting some airlines, but not all, at check-in.

“What they are doing is reverting to manual systems, manual check-ins rather than computerised.

“So people are still checking-in, it is just a bit slower, planes have still been getting away.”

A single Dublin to Liverpool flight had been delayed due to an issue in the Republic, the spokesman added.

A spokesman for Manchester Airport also said “check-in and boarding are taking longer than usual for affected airlines”.

He added that “some areas of the airport are busy as a result” but most flights are “unaffected”.

However some airport shops cannot take card payments.

Manchester United reported problems with its website and had to delay ticket sales for two hours for eight home games.

A club spokesperson said: “Unfortunately, due to a global Microsoft Servers outage which is affecting many systems, including ours, this morning’s on-sale will be postponed until midday.

“The website will also is partially unavailable until the issue is resolved. Further updates will be provided, including any further potential delays.”

Blackburn Rovers posted on X: “Due to a global third-party system outage, some online services, including our ticketing platform, are experiencing disruption today.

“This is completely out of the club’s control and is a network-wide issue across the world, which we are monitoring closely.”

Other EFL clubs among those to also report issues were Bolton Wanderers, Preston and Rotherham.