Key Takeaways
- A significant Amazon Web Services (AWS) outage caused widespread disruptions, severely impacting major airline websites like Delta and United.
- Essential passenger services, including flight check-ins, reservation management, and seat assignments, were unavailable during the downtime.
- The incident affected a broad spectrum of global services, impacting gaming, finance, communication platforms, and even Amazon’s own retail operations.
- This event draws parallels to a major AWS disruption in July 2024, which led to substantial flight cancellations and considerable financial losses for Delta Air Lines.
- AWS is actively working to fully restore services and manage the backlog of requests resulting from the extensive interruption.
Major Airlines Face Disruptions Amid AWS Outage
Prominent airline websites, including those of Delta Air Lines and United Airlines, experienced significant service interruptions on Monday. These disruptions were a direct consequence of a widespread outage impacting Amazon Web Services (AWS), which affected online operations across various sectors globally. Passengers reported an inability to perform critical tasks such as checking in for flights, viewing reservation details, or selecting seat assignments during the period of service unavailability.
Amazon recognized the issue, pinpointing its origin to the US-EAST-1 region early Monday morning. By 5:27 a.m. ET, the cloud provider indicated substantial signs of recovery, with most service requests beginning to process normally. Amazon stated that its teams were continuing to manage a backlog of queued requests and would provide further updates as the situation evolved.
Understanding the AWS Outage Impact
Amazon’s service dashboard had previously reported increased error rates and latency issues for numerous AWS services within the US-EAST-1 Region. Neither Delta nor United Airlines issued immediate official comments regarding the specific operational impact on their platforms.
During the outage, many affected users took to social media to express their frustrations about missed reservations and challenges with flight check-in and baggage drop procedures. Although services began to return online, the recovery process was not uniform across all impacted users.
Recalling Previous Cloud Service Disruptions
This recent AWS interruption serves as a stark reminder of a major cloud-related incident that occurred in July 2024. That earlier event, attributed to a faulty software update, led to extensive system failures worldwide. For Delta Air Lines, that specific malfunction resulted in the cancellation of over 5,000 flights and incurred losses exceeding $500 million, factoring in revenue loss and customer compensation.
As service levels began to stabilize, Amazon emphasized its continuous monitoring of recovery efforts and its commitment to resolving any outstanding backlogs.
Airlines Among the First Services Affected
Airline websites and their associated mobile applications were among the most visibly impacted services during the outage. Passengers reported difficulties with seat assignments, check-in processes, and accessing essential flight information. Both the Delta and United websites experienced intermittent disruptions for several hours. Formal statements from the airlines regarding the incident have not yet been released.
The current situation bears a strong resemblance to the global software malfunction in July 2024, which significantly disrupted numerous industries and forced Delta to cancel more than 5,000 flights, leading to direct losses and compensation costs exceeding $500 million for the airline.
Widespread Impact Across Global Digital Services
The scope of this disruption extended far beyond the aviation industry. According to Downdetector, a platform that monitors online service outages, a multitude of popular applications encountered interruptions. These included major gaming platforms such as Fortnite, Roblox, Snapchat, Clash Royale, and Clash of Clans. Financial and trading platforms like Coinbase, Venmo, and Chime also reported service interruptions, while Robinhood experienced connectivity issues.
AI startup Perplexity, cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, and trading app Robinhood all cited the AWS outage as the cause of their operational difficulties. Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas confirmed via X (formerly Twitter), Perplexity is down right now. The root cause is an AWS issue. We’re working on resolving it.
Amazon’s own retail website, its Prime Video streaming service, and the Alexa voice assistant also experienced temporary disruptions. In the United Kingdom, services from Lloyds Bank, Bank of Scotland, Vodafone, BT, and the HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) website were reportedly affected, according to Downdetector’s UK tracking data.
The messaging platform Signal also acknowledged experiencing issues. Its president, Meredith Whittaker, stated on X that the AWS downtime had impacted the app’s operational capabilities.
Final Thoughts on Cloud Dependency
The recent AWS outage underscored the profound dependency of numerous global services on robust cloud infrastructure. This incident resulted in significant inconvenience for airline passengers and extended its impact to a vast array of popular consumer and financial applications, highlighting the far-reaching consequences of cloud service interruptions.