Microsoft Azure Outage Status: Major Cloud Service Disruption Hits Alaska Air, Starbucks, and More

Microsoft Azure is facing a widespread outage that has disrupted multiple major services, including Office 365, Xbox Live, and even major corporate systems such as Alaska Airlines and Starbucks. The outage, which began late Wednesday, has affected Microsoft’s global content delivery network and Azure Front Door service.

According to Microsoft’s official status page, engineers are actively investigating the root cause and working to restore access. The company confirmed that users may experience issues signing in or accessing applications that rely on Azure cloud services.

Azure Outage Impacts Global Services and Businesses

The Microsoft Azure outage status has drawn widespread attention as businesses and users across the globe report disruptions. The Associated Press noted that the issue stems from Azure’s content delivery infrastructure, which powers services like Office 365, Copilot, and even popular games such as Minecraft and Xbox Live.

Reports from Downdetector show thousands of outage complaints linked not only to Microsoft platforms but also to companies that depend on Azure hosting — including Alaska Airlines, Costco, and Starbucks. Alaska Airlines publicly acknowledged via social media that the issue was impacting its check-in and reservation systems, leading to delays at airports nationwide.

Microsoft has yet to issue a formal statement beyond the Azure status update, but engineers have been “taking mitigation actions” to stabilize the platform. The outage has triggered a ripple effect across industries that depend on Azure’s cloud ecosystem for essential operations.

Broader Tech Sector Impact and Industry Context

The timing of the outage is notable. It arrived just hours before Microsoft was set to release its quarterly earnings report, adding a layer of tension to one of the company’s most closely watched business segments. Azure has been central to Microsoft’s growth strategy, competing directly with Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google Cloud.

The disruption also comes on the heels of a similar issue affecting AWS earlier this month, which took down several major platforms worldwide. Analysts suggest these incidents highlight the growing dependence on cloud computing giants — and the systemic risks that emerge when one of them experiences downtime.

For users, the outage means potential interruptions to email, online work tools, and digital commerce platforms. For businesses, it reinforces the need for multi-cloud resilience and stronger failover systems to prevent operational paralysis.

As of early Thursday, Microsoft Azure engineers continue to investigate the incident and monitor recovery progress. Users are advised to follow the official Azure status page for real-time updates on service restoration.

FYI (keeping you in the loop)-

Q1: What is the current Microsoft Azure outage status?

Microsoft engineers are still investigating the Azure Front Door issue. Some users have regained partial access, but many services remain unstable.

Q2: Which services are affected by the Azure outage?

Office 365, Xbox Live, Minecraft, Copilot, and business systems like Alaska Airlines and Starbucks have reported service disruptions.

Q3: How long will the Microsoft Azure outage last?

No official timeline has been given. Microsoft says mitigation actions are underway, and full restoration may vary by region.

Q4: Why did Alaska Airlines and Starbucks experience issues?

Both companies rely on Microsoft Azure’s cloud hosting for operational tools, so downtime in Azure directly affects their systems.

Q5: Has Microsoft commented on the cause of the outage?

The company cited problems with its content delivery network but has not shared detailed technical reasons yet.