Luton Airport’s air and connecting rail services are returning to normal after being affected by a global IT system failure.

A global technology system issue in Microsoft computers lead to technical problems worldwide yesterday (19/07), with the fault linked to issues within an update released on Thursday to an anti-virus software produced by American cybersecurity company CrowdStrike.

Airports, rail networks, banks, healthcare providers, TV channels and Formula One teams were among several businesses affected, with the “blue screen of death” seen on many computers at start-up throughout the last few days.

Luton Airport confirmed issues in a first update at around 9:20am yesterday morning. They stated that, “We are aware of an ongoing global IT issue that is impacting check-in and boarding procedures for some airlines. We have additional staff on hand to support and operations are continuing with manual systems. Passengers are advised to check with their airlines for flight updates.”

In a follow-up update at 11am, the airport confirmed that it was open, and to advise passengers check accordingly with their airline.

Their most recent update, which was published just after 6pm yesterday evening, said some delays may be possible as a result of the disruption caused.

They said, “London Luton Airport remains fully operational, although some delays are possible as some airlines work to restore their systems impacted by today’s global IT outage.

“Passengers should continue to check with their airline for the latest flight information before travelling to the airport.”

Another firm hit by the issue was Thameslink, who run commuter services between Luton and London as well as a myriad of several other commuter train lines connecting multiple towns and cities in South East England around London.

They first reported technology issues at around 7:45am yesterday morning.

In their first social media statement on the issue, they said, “We are currently experiencing widespread IT issues across our entire network. Our IT teams are actively investigating to determine the root cause of the problem.

“We are unable to access driver diagrams at certain locations, leading to potential short-notice cancellations, particularly on the Thameslink and Great Northern networks.

“Additionally, other key systems, including our real-time customer information platforms, are also affected. We will provide additional updates when we can. In the meantime, please regularly check your journey before you travel.

“We’re sorry for the disruption to our services and customer information channels this morning.”

Thameslink have since been able to correct faults, publishing a follow-up social media statement around 11:35am yesterday morning that they had regained access to key systems and were beginning to run services again.

As of this morning (20/07), a majority of flights at Luton Airport and rail services serving the nearby Luton Airport Parkway rail station seem to have returned to running on time or within a few minutes.

The global IT outage was caused by faulty coding in an update to CrowdStrike’s Falcon cybersecurity device, which lead to many computers connected with it stuck in a reboot spiral.

Described by some technology experts as “the largest IT outage as history”, issues began when simultaneous issues were reported in Australia, Asia and the USA.

America’s three largest airlines Delta, American and United were among those to ground flights, with thousands of flights worldwide affected, while airports across the world also reported technical issues with processing passengers.

In the UK, airports were also affected, while hospitals and GP surgeries saw communication systems affected and the TV channel Sky News was briefly taken off air due to it’s own technical issues.

In a statement, CrowdStrike’s CEO George Kurtz apologised for the failures and said they would work with those affected to restore compromised systems.

He said, “I want to sincerely apologize directly to all of you for today’s outage. All of CrowdStrike understands the gravity and impact of the situation. We quickly identified the issue and deployed a fix, allowing us to focus diligently on restoring customer systems as our highest priority.

“The outage was caused by a defect found in a Falcon content update for Windows hosts. Mac and Linux hosts are not impacted. This was not a cyberattack.

“We are working closely with impacted customers and partners to ensure that all systems are restored, so you can deliver the services your customers rely on.

“CrowdStrike is operating normally, and this issue does not affect our Falcon platform systems. There is no impact to any protection if the Falcon sensor is installed. Falcon Complete and Falcon OverWatch services are not disrupted.”

The Milton Keynes-born football star Leah Williamson helped England qualify for next year’s Women’s Euros.

England captain and Arsenal defender Williamson played the full 90 minutes as England drew 0-0 with Sweden in Gothenburg.

The draw means England advance as runners-up in League A Group 3, and means the defending champions will qualify automatically for next year’s Women’s Euros in Switzerland.

England finished as runners-up to France, with the two sides joining hosts Switzerland, World Cup winners Spain, Germany, Italy, Iceland, Denmark and the Netherlands in qualifying for the Euros finals.

The other seven spots will be determined by play-offs, which will be determined by a first round of two-legged play-offs in October and then a second round to be played in November & December.

In a brief statement on Instagram, Williamson said “Qualification. Thank you for the incredible away support across the campaign!”

Williamson had previously played the first half as England beat Ireland 2-1 at Norwich’s Carrow Road last Friday, which combined with a defeat for Sweden against France meant a draw would’ve been enough for England to advance to the Euros proper.

In Gothenburg, Williamson played the whole game as England got the point that they needed. A game of few chances saw Sweden apply second half pressure in search of a winning goal they required, but they were unable to breakthrough as the Lionesses got the job done and confirmed their presence in Switzerland next summer.

The Euro 2025 group stage draw is scheduled to take place on 16th December 2024.

The Wizard of Oz has landed at Milton Keynes Theatre fresh from a Summer season at the London Palladium with Strictly Come Dancing’s Craig Revel Horwood returning to MK to star as the Wicked Witch of the West who gives a great performance.

This is a show which really massively overdelivers on your expectations with a extremely high production values, utilising a giant video screen and layered projections to bring the technicolour land of Oz to life like never before. The score from the original iconic MGM movie has been reworked to sound more powerful and exciting than ever and of course there’s plenty of singing, dancing and skipping arm in arm along the yellow brick road.

All the iconic songs from the original movie are included, from Over The Rainbow to Follow The Yellow Brick Road and We’re Off To See the Wizard plus some new songs from Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice.

But where you feel like you know exactly what to expect, this production manages to make the story feel fresh, modern and exciting, keeping the familiar characters and the essence of the story but bringing modern twists to the staging with the Emerald City reimagined as a neon lit Vegas-esque urban jungle and the yellow brick road made from disco dancefloor panels on wheels

The cast are superb with an outstanding performance from newcomer Aviva Tulley as Dorothy, joined by Benjamin Yates (ITV’s Emmerdale; Jersey Boys, West End) who has fantastic stage presence as The Scarecrow, Nic Greenshields (Love Never Dies West End; Les Misérables West End, International Tour) who is hilarious as The Cowardly Lion, and Femi Akinfolarin whose embodiment of The Tin Man is incredible.

Completing the main cast are Alex Bourne (Annie, West End, UK Tour, Toronto; Hairspray, UK Tour) as The Wizard, Emily Bull (9 to 5, UK Tour; Matilda UK Tour) as Glinda The Good Witch and Abigail Matthews who brings Dorothy’s dog Toto to life with superb puppetry skills .

This is a magical and hugely enjoyable family show which will reignite your love of this timeless story.

The Wizard of Oz is at Milton Keynes Theatre from Tuesday 16 to Sunday 21 July 2024 (Evenings @ 7:30pm, Wed & Sat Matinees @ 2:30pm, Sun Matinee @ 1pm)

Dawson Devoy has left MK Dons after the Irish midfielder re-joined his former club Bohemian FC.

The 22-year-old returns to Bohemian two years after leaving the Dublin-based side to join MK Dons, whom he had joined in the summer of 2022.

Devoy has signed a contract of undisclosed length described as a “multi-year” deal with the Bohs, with the Irish club paying an undisclosed fee to facilitate the deal.

The move sees Devoy move after two seasons with the Dons, for whom he made 58 appearances in all competitions, scoring twice.

Most of Devoy’s appearances came in his first season with the club, when he made 44 appearances in all competitions for a Dons side relegated from League One in the 2022/23 season.

Devoy’s last appearance for the Dons came in a match against Crawley in December 2023, with the midfielder finding his opportunities reduced under both Graham Alexander and Mike Williamson last season.

The Irishman would spend the second half of last season on loan with the Dons’ fellow League Two outfit Swindon Town, making 16 appearances for the Wiltshire-based club and scoring three goals, two of which coming in a win over AFC Wimbledon.

Devoy told the club’s official website of his delight to return to Ballymount and hoped to help the club push up the league after a slow start to the season.

He said, “I’m absolutely buzzing to be back, and can’t wait to get back playing for Bohs again. This is where I played some of my best football, and I want to do even better again.

“I’m not coming home for an easy life – I loved my time at Bohs before and I want to be a part of getting the club back to where we belong.

“I had really good conversations with the manager, who obviously I knew well from the Ireland U21s, and with Stephen O’Donnell and Derek Pender. The plans that they have for the club and how they want to play really excited me.

“The club isn’t where it should be at the moment, so all of us coming in are determined to help the team push on.

“There’s a new manager in and now there’s new players in too, so we all have a role to play in getting the club back kicking and in getting Dalymount back rocking.”