The Tribune

A GLOBAL technology outage has been impacting Bahamians - with a number of services either out of action or experiencing difficulties. 

The problem reportedly occurred when a faulty update was deployed to computers running Microsoft Windows. A fix is said to be on the way. 

But in The Bahamas, a number of services have been affected. 

Several banks were reported to have their ATMs out of action, while credit payment facilities online were also impacted for a number of companies. 

Atlantis issued a statement saying that due to the outage and its effect on air travel to The Bahamas, it was waiving no-show fees for guests with confirmed reservations arriving at the resort today or tomorrow. 

It said: "Guests with confirmed reservations arriving July 19, 2024-July 20, 2024, can cancel reservations with the option to rebook your vacation without penalties for a stay to be completed within one year of the original arrival date..." subject to terms and conditions.

The Nassau Airport Development Company reported disruption to some operations at Lynden Pindling International Airport. 

It said: "At present, passengers are being processed in the check-in areas at all terminals (US Departures and International/Domestic Departures). Bahamas Customs and Immigration are also able to process arriving passengers. US Customs and Border Protection (USCBP) officers are currently operating on a backup system to process US-bound travellers.

"There have also been reports of flight delays by some airlines. We encourage travellers to contact their airlines directly for the latest updates regarding flights.

"Commercial operations are also being impacted by the global issues with some vendors having challenges processing credit card transactions.

"We appreciate the patience and understanding of all passengers during this time. Our team will continue to monitor the situation and will provide updates throughout the day."

Local supermarkets reported that credit card machines were not operational on Friday morning as well. 

UPDATE: The Governor of the Central Bank of The Bahamas posted to social media to say that the "international banking disruption is also having its impact on The Bahamas". He said: "Some card payment services were offline and may still be. The Central Bank is monitoring the impact on local commercial banks."

UPDATE: RBC has anounced that its services have been affected by the outage. In a statement posted to social media, the bank said it was "actively investigating and solutions are being deployed". 

The bank added: "Clients may have difficulty accessing their account information and may experience delays in their transactions. Our teams are working diligently to restore access as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience and we apologise for the inconvenience."

UPDATE: NAD reports that operations at Lynden Pindling International Airport (LPIA) continue to be impacted by the global internet outage. 

A new statement said: "Currently, airline operators are experiencing significant delays for arriving and departing flights particularly those operating from the US Departures terminal. Some airlines are estimating delays of 2-5 hours for both inbound and outbound flights.

"Passengers are being processed through checkpoints in all terminals. US Customs and Border Protection (USCBP) have returned to their main operating system and, as of this update, continue to process passengers.

"Retail and food and beverage operators are reporting challenges with payment processing and ATM’s in terminal are working intermittently.

"LPIA passengers are encouraged to contact their airlines directly to obtain the most up-to-date information on their flight status.

"We ask the traveling public for continued patience as LPIA stakeholders work to mitigate the fallout from this global issue."