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Editor’s Note: This story has been updated with additional details.
A widespread Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) cloud service disruption on Thursday led to the grounding and cancellation of flights for several airlines, including Frontier Group Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:ULCC), Allegiant Travel Company (NASDAQ:ALGT), and Sun Country Airlines (NASDAQ:SNCY).
What Happened: Microsoft reported issues with its cloud services in the Central U.S. region, which significantly impacted the operations of several airlines, Reuters reported on Friday.
The low-cost carriers, including Frontier Airlines, Allegiant, and Sun Country, experienced outages that affected their day-to-day operations.
Frontier Airlines confirmed that a “major Microsoft technical outage” had temporarily disrupted its operations. On the other hand, Sun Country pointed to a third-party vendor that affected its booking and check-in facilities, without naming the company. Allegiant’s website was also affected, leading to its unavailability.
As a result, Frontier Airlines had to cancel 147 flights and delay 212 others on Thursday. Allegiant and Sun Country also experienced significant disruptions, with 45% and 23% of their flights delayed, respectively. American Airlines (NASDAQ:AAL), Delta Airlines (NYSE:DAL), and United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) also grounded their flights.
See Also: Why Key Apple, Nvidia Supplier TSMC’s Shares Are Plunging In Wednesday’s Premarket
Microsoft’s outage began at approximately 6 p.m. ET on Thursday, affecting a subset of its customers with issues in multiple Azure services in the Central U.S. region. Azure is a cloud computing platform that offers services for building, deploying, and managing applications and services.
The Alaska State Troopers confirmed, as reported by The New York Times, that call centers for 911 and non-emergency lines in Alaska were affected by "a nationwide technology-related outage."
The LSE Group, which operates the London Stock Exchange, has reported a global technical issue that is preventing news publication. In Asia, Japanese users began experiencing glitches with Microsoft 365, the company's internet-based office software suite, in the afternoon. Additionally, airlines at Mumbai and Hong Kong airports had to revert to manual passenger check-ins, according to a Bloomberg report.
These disruptions followed Microsoft’s recent announcement that it had resolved an Azure cloud services outage. Prior to this, Microsoft’s status pages indicated that both Azure and Microsoft 365 had faced problems for several hours.
Why It Matters: This is not the first time Microsoft has faced issues with its cloud services. In January 2023, Microsoft 365 experienced a global outage that impacted services like Teams, Outlook, and Xbox Live. The company later identified a potential networking issue.
Microsoft’s cloud services have also been subject to scrutiny. In May, a Spanish startup group filed a complaint against Microsoft’s cloud practices, alleging that the tech giant was using its dominant position to force the adoption of its Azure cloud. This complaint adds to the challenges faced by Microsoft’s rapidly expanding cloud computing services.
In its annual sustainability report in May, Microsoft reported a nearly 30% increase in emissions since 2020, primarily driven by the expansion of data centers required for AI and cloud computing.
Price Action: Microsoft Corp’s stock closed at $440.37 on Thursday, down 0.71% for the day. In after-hours trading, the stock rose 0.28%. Year to date, Microsoft shares have gained 18.74%, according to data from Benzinga Pro.
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Image Via Shutterstock
This story was generated using Benzinga Neuro and edited by Kaustubh Bagalkote
