Heathrow, NatWest and Minecraft are among some of the sites and services experiencing problems amid a global Microsoft outage. Outage tracker Downdetector showed thousands of reports of issues with a number of websites globally on Wednesday. Microsoft said some users of Microsoft 365, which includes Outlook and Teams, might see delays. The company's Azure cloud computing platform, which underpins large parts of the internet, reported a degradation of some services at 1600 GMT. It said this was due to DNS issues - the same root cause of the huge Amazon Web Services (AWS) outage last week.

"Aircraft can operate safely in fog, but airports go into a kind of slow motion," says travel expert Simon Calder. "Aircraft follow a beam from the instrument landing system. This beam must not be broken, which could happen when it's foggy," he tells the BBC. And when there are high winds, for safety, aircraft have to be more spaced apart than usual. Despite Heathrow trialling artificial intelligence to help planes land in low visibility, controllers in on-ground towers still need to clearly see an aircraft arriving before issuing a landing clearance, aviation expert Scott Bateman MBE wrote on X.

A handful of European airports are implementing trials of quick-fire coronavirus tests, working with airlines to push technologies still being developed as a way to revive stunted international air travel. The tests, which can be carried out in 30 minutes, are seen as the best hope for the aviation industry to overcome new travel curbs that have brought a modest traffic rebound over summer to a shuddering halt. Other initiatives include a Finnish experiment with dogs that can sniff out the virus. Rome's Fiumicino hub became the first worldwide to introduce rapid screening, while London Heathrow, Europe's busiest airport, has trialed three rival technologies. The International Air Transport Association is backing mandatory checks on departure to unlock flights before the arrival of a COVID-19 vaccine, and Deutsche Lufthansa AG wants to use tests to reopen the trans-Atlantic market.

As Grushka-Cockayne explains, there was enthusiasm among key stakeholders at Heathrow to upgrade existing data systems at the airport, and a consensus about the opportunity to better leverage data to improve the experience of connecting passengers--who account for roughly one-third of all travelers who pass through Heathrow annually. The question was how to do this. "People want to use machine learning and big data--all of these buzz words," says Grushka-Cockayne, "but if they don't know how to focus in on a very specific task that can generate predictions, it is difficult to use the technology to actually improve decision-making." Grushka-Cockayne and her team spent several months working with partners at Heathrow to define the scope of their research--the development of a machine learning model that could predict a passenger's journey through Heathrow in route to his or her connecting flight. The goal was to be able to anticipate the number of people passing through immigration in real time (enabling more efficient staff allocation at immigration lines), and also to predict whether a passenger would be late for his or her flight (allowing the airport to proactively offer supporting services). But it wasn't easy to capture the complexity of a passenger's journey through an airport in a statistical model.

Dubai International Airport is the latest to halt flights over a drone scare following similar incidents at London's Gatwick and Heathrow. The world's third-busiest airport temporarily stopped operations for just under 30 minutes due to "unauthorized drone activity," according to a tweet from the Dubai Media Office. Incoming flights were permitted to land during the disruption, reports The New York Times, which occurred between 10.15AM and 10.45AM local time. Operations are now reportedly back to normal. "Dubai Airports has worked closely with the appropriate authorities to ensure that the safety of airport operations is maintained at all times and to minimize any inconvenience to our customers," the airport said.

The artificial intelligence technology could reclaim 20 per cent of lost capacity caused by low cloud and reduced visibility from the control tower. At Heathrow's air traffic control tower, NATS have developed a digital tower laboratory which combines ultra HD 4K cameras with AI and machine learning technology to help to boost the capacity of the UK's busiest airport. Heathrow's 87-metre tall control tower is the highest in the UK, but its height can also mean it disappears into low cloud, even when the runways below are clear. In those conditions, where the controllers have to rely on radar to know if an arriving aircraft has left the runway, extra time is given between each landing to ensure its safety. The result is a 20 per cent loss of landing capacity, which creates delays for passengers and knock-on disruption for the rest of the operation.

The air traffic management service NATS has begun a trial to understand whether Artificial Intelligence (AI) could be used to help reduce flight delays. A project is now underway, within NATS' bespoke Digital Tower Laboratory, at Heathrow Airport to test whether a combination of ultra HD 4K cameras along with state-of-the-art AI and machine learning technology can be used to help improve the airport's landing capacity in times of low visibility and improve punctuality. Heathrow's 87 metre tall control tower is the highest in the UK and provides commanding views of the airport and surrounding landscape, but its height can also mean it disappears into low cloud, even when the runways below are clear. In those conditions, where the controllers have to rely on radar to know if an arriving aircraft has left the runway, extra time is given between each landing to ensure its safety. The result is a 20% loss of landing capacity, which creates delays for passengers and knock-on disruption for the rest of the operation.

Ultra high-definition 4K cameras, AI and machine learning technology installed at Heathrow airport could cut flight delays during bad weather by up tp 20 per cent. Technology installed at the west London airport's control tower will help air traffic controllers (ATCs) track aircraft when visibility is reduced. AI is learning to interpret the images and track aircraft, flagging when aircraft have safely left the runway and speeding up subsequent arrivals. Officials say the technology will be particularly useful at night, as the highly sensitive cameras will let controllers to see the airfield as if it was dusk rather than complete darkness. Heathrow has the highest airport control tower in the UK at 285 feet (87 metres), but this means it can be surrounded by low cloud even when the runways are clear.

A man has been charged with flying a drone near Heathrow Airport on 24 December. George Rusu is accused of using a drone on a field near the runway just days after a scare at Gatwick grounded more than 1,000 flights. He has been charged with flying a "small unmanned aircraft without permission of air traffic control". Mr Rusu, 38, from Hillingdon, will appear at Uxbridge Magistrates' Court on Tuesday. The alleged incident happened just three days after Gatwick Airport fully reopened on December 21, following three days of chaos affecting about 140,000 passengers.

For the second time in less than a month, suspected drone sightings have shut down a UK airport. On 8 January flights out of London Heathrow were suspended for over an hour. And between 19 and 21 December, more than 140,000 people at London Gatwick had their travel plans disrupted after drones were spotted above the airport. How can drones cause so much disruption? Airports operate on a just-in-time basis, with Heathrow moving a plane onto or off its runways every 45 seconds on average. A drone could interrupt this flow if planes have to reroute.