Microsoft 365. Photo: gguy / Shutterstock.com A global Microsoft 365 outage is disrupting email services and other online functions, affecting organizations across multiple regions, with airlines and government agencies reporting problems with their communication systems.
Microsoft initially reported connectivity issues affecting Exchange Online mailboxes in the Americas, but later confirmed that the disruption could affect Microsoft 365 services in any region.
Although automated recovery measures were introduced and helped reduce the impact, Microsoft said it was continuing to work on restoring its services.
In its latest update, Microsoft said its teams were working to recover frontend servers while implementing additional traffic optimization measures to improve stability and increase capacity. Further information is available through the Microsoft 365 admin center under incident, as well as the company's public service status website.
The disruption has prompted several organizations to issue their own advisories.
Malaysia Airlines reported intermittent email problems that could affect customer feedback submissions through its website. The carrier advised passengers who submitted feedback during the outage to send it again once services are restored. It also warned that longer response times should be expected.
Air India, meanwhile, said it was closely monitoring the situation but stressed that its flight operations remain unaffected. The airline confirmed that it had temporarily rerouted its emails to ensure messages continued to reach its teams, adding that it was maintaining its usual 24-hour response timeline.
The carrier also said its other communication channels remain operational, including telephone support, AI-based assistance, social media and customer notifications.
Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism has also reported direct consequences from the outage. In a notice published on November 13, the ministry said it was temporarily unable to send or receive emails.
Officials warned that messages sent to the ministry that day might not have been delivered and asked anyone needing assistance to contact the relevant department or the ministry's main switchboard by telephone. The ministry added that its official website remained accessible.
The Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office in Colorado said the disruption has affected online bond payments for people held at the Arapahoe County Detention Facility. Due to problems with Outlook, jail officials are not receiving the email notifications required to process online payments. The office said the issue would continue until email services are restored.
In California, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department reported disruptions to email and other essential communication platforms. The department said it was monitoring the situation while Microsoft works to restore services, and directed the public and media to its official channels for further updates.
As recovery efforts continue, Microsoft has yet to provide a definitive timeline for the full restoration of affected services. The extent of the disruption varies between organizations, with some reporting email problems while others say their operations and alternative communication channels remain unaffected.