Parents of Helston Community College students who are currently on a school trip to Spain are being updated on their children’s flight home after a massive global IT outage has grounded flights across the world.

The students, along with members of staff are due to arrive back in the UK this evening (Friday) but have been caught up in the chaos. 

However, due to the worldwide IT outage which began overnight and has affected airlines across the world, there is uncertainty that students will be back at their original arrival time.

A post shared on Facebook by Helston Community College says: “We are currently seeking advice from our company NST – but we could be subject to long delays.”

Read Next | How Cornwall is affected by worldwide IT issue causing chaos

The college is advising parents to keep an eye on the page for further information and updates which will be shared as soon as they’re available.

One parent whose child is one of those on the trip said that she had spoken to her son who was on his way to the airport. She told the Packet: “He’s on his way to the airport now.

“Hopefully he will be flying home as planned, but we don’t know any more information yet.

The IT outage, which began overnight, has affected numerous sectors globally, including airlines, banks, and some NHS services in Cornwall.

Microsoft 365 software and Microsoft Azure cloud computing have been impacted due to a problem within some of the company's data centres. Separately, a fault with anti-virus and anti-malware software from Cybersecurity company Crowdstrike has further compounded the situation, impacting multiple airlines, banks, and other businesses worldwide.

While some flights across the globe have been grounded, Newquay Airport itself appears to be operational, though some departing flights are showing delays."