Closing summary
McDonald’s restaurants in multiple countries including the UK and Australia have been hit by a “technology outage”, as the fast food chain denied it had been hit by a cybersecurity attack.
Services in Australia, the UK, Japan and China have been affected, with unconfirmed reports of problems elsewhere, with restaurant, drive-through and online orders affected.
A global spokesperson for McDonald’s said the company was working to resolve the unspecified problem.
“We are aware of a technology outage, which impacted our restaurants; the issue is now being resolved. We thank customers for their patience and apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused. Notably, the issue is not related to a cybersecurity event,” the spokesperson said.
A UK spokesperson for McDonald’s said the outage affecting restaurants had been “resolved” in the UK and Ireland. In the UK, the Downdetector site, which flags outages on apps, reported more than 600 outages on the app on Friday morning with a spike at about 7am.
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Thank you for reading, and have a great weekend. Take care – JK
Boeing cockpit seat switch mishap reportedly led to Latam flight incident
Another Boeing jet is facing scrutiny after the planemaker reportedly told airlines to check the cockpit seats of 787 Dreamliners following a terrifying drop during a flight from Sydney to Auckland.
Dozens of people on Latam Airlines Flight 800 were said to have been hurt this week when the plane fell sharply, throwing passengers around the cabin.
Boeing has recommended that airlines inspect cockpit chairs of 787 jets for loose covers on switches, according to the Wall Street Journal, which reported that unnamed US industry officials said the incident was the result of a mishap: a flight attendant serving a meal hit a switch on the pilot’s seat, pushing the pilot into the controls.
In a memo issued late on Thursday, seen by the newspaper, Boeing said that closing a spring-loaded seat back switch guard on to a loose rocker switch cap could “potentially jam the rocker switch, resulting in unintended seat movement”.
Boeing did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It is already grappling with a safety crisis grappling with a safety crisis, after a cabin panel blowout during an Alaska Airlines flight of a brand-new 737 Max 9 jet in January.
Regulators grounded 171 Max 9 aircraft for several weeks, and are still inspecting the planemaker’s production line. Boeing’s CEO, Dave Calhoun, has acknowledged the company faces a “serious challenge” to win back the confidence of officials and airlines.
