Still functioning problems for Outlook and other Microsoft 365 services. According to Downdetector, the malfunction, which began yesterday, November 12, and is continuing today, affected users in 74 countries. In addition to email, the Teams platform and the artificial intelligence assistant Copilot are also involved. Meanwhile, recovery activities continue. The company announced in the early afternoon that there are "remarkable improvements" in Europe and North America.
The blackout that hit Microsoft is also creating repercussions on the air traffic front, by blocking communications between passengers and airlines. This was stated by RimborsoAlVolo, a company specializing in air transport and passenger assistance, which underlines the consequences and inconveniences for travelers left "in the dark" today. Due to the disservices that are affecting Microsoft's offer, the exchange of emails between carriers and passengers has been interrupted - explains RimborsoAlVolo - This means on the one hand the impossibility for travelers to send communications to airline operators via email, on the other the failure to receive notices from customers about changes affecting flights, such as changes to departure times, gates, delays, or cancellations.
According to reports from the German federal government, the Microsoft malfunction has so far had no significant repercussions on the federal administration. "We have received no reports of significant interruptions from the federal administration," said a spokesperson for the Digital Ministry in Berlin as reported by dpa. And a spokesperson for the Interior Ministry also said that, so far, it does not appear that the ministry or authorities linked to it have been affected. In the financial district of Frankfurt, however, internal communication was particularly affected. However, solutions have been found to continue working, explained a Commerzbank spokesperson.
"The problems that have been affecting various Microsoft services in various parts of the world since yesterday, including Outlook and the Microsoft 365 platform, are causing inconvenience to millions of citizens", reports Assoutenti, who underlines how the affected services are used every day by consumers and businesses for daily and work activities. "When platforms used daily by millions of people suddenly stop working, the consequences translate into concrete inconvenience for citizens, professionals and companies - states president Gabriele Melluso - The inability to access one's email inbox or work tools can prevent one from receiving important communications, managing documents, meeting deadlines and carrying out professional and commercial activities".
England's public health service (NHS England) has activated emergency plans to deal with the global Microsoft failure, which also blocked email in several hospitals, such as those in Salford, Oldham, Rochdale and Bury, in the Manchester area. Healthcare facilities are applying "long-planned measures to manage IT failures", using, where possible, "other IT systems" or "paper records" to ensure essential care and appointments. An NHS spokesperson declared this, admitting inconvenience for staff.
Automatic compensation for citizens and businesses affected by the Microsoft blackout. This was asked by Codacons after the heavy inconveniences that have been experienced all over the world since yesterday. The company cannot simply restore its systems and consider the problem closed: it must answer for the consequences caused to its customers, says the association. And it therefore asks Microsoft to prepare an extraordinary compensation plan, with automatic credits for subscribers and bonuses in favor of private consumers. Otherwise the association will evaluate the possible compensation actions to be taken towards the company to protect all those damaged by the blackout.
The Microsoft failure did not cause any problems for rail traffic in Germany. "So far we have not noticed any repercussions on railway operations at a national level," said a Deutsche Bahn spokesperson, when asked about the matter, as reported by Dpa. According to a spokesperson, there are no repercussions on air traffic at Lufthansa either. A spokeswoman for Berlin Airport said Microsoft's problems had not affected flight operations. The German stock exchange was informed that securities trading was proceeding as usual: "Trading was not affected by the fault and is proceeding stably."
In Belgium, the global blackout of Microsoft services has caused disruption in public administrations and universities. The Bcss, the federal public body that coordinates the IT exchange of data between social security bodies, has announced that it has no longer been able to send or receive emails since 6pm yesterday. Problems have also been reported by the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB).
The blackout of Microsoft 365 services, including Outlook and Teams, is also causing widespread disruption in the Netherlands, involving municipal and provincial administrations, courts, universities and the media. This was reported by the Dutch news agency ANP, specifying that the problems mainly concern the sending and receiving of emails and access to digital services. Among the affected administrations are the municipalities of Amsterdam, The Hague and Delft, as well as numerous other cities, and the provinces of North and South Holland, Groningen, Overijssel and North Brabant.
The global Microsoft failure is having a "severe impact" on ambulances and NHS facilities in the UK. This was declared by the British trade union Gmb. According to Rachel Harrison, the union's national director of public services, the operators of 999, the equivalent of the emergency number 112, and 111, the telephone line for non-urgent health problems, "are unable to pass on patient details in the usual way, which is creating a huge backlog and risks causing chaos". Harrison specified that emergency ambulances are operating regularly.
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