A widespread technical disruption across Microsoft’s cloud and communication services began rippling through India’s aviation sector on Friday, November 13, 2026, triggering flight cancellations, schedule delays, and urgent customer-support advisories at major airports led by New Delhi. With domestic passenger traffic running high across key hubs—including New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Lucknow, Patna, and Hyderabad—amid the ongoing festive travel rush, airlines scrambled to keep travelers informed as backend email and communication channels encountered intermittent failures. Budget carrier SpiceJet bore the brunt of immediate schedule disruptions in the national capital on Friday morning, cancelling three outbound flights from Delhi and reporting delays on two additional departures. Meanwhile, full-service carrier Air India and low-cost operators IndiGo and Akasa Air, alongside Delhi Airport, issued formal passenger advisories urging travelers to verify their live flight status before heading to terminals and to rely on alternative digital support channels while Microsoft engineers worked to stabilize affected systems.

SpiceJet Cancels Three Delhi Flights and Delays Two Amid Disruptions

The most visible operational impact on Friday morning unfolded at Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport in New Delhi, where SpiceJet cancelled three scheduled domestic flights. According to aviation updates, the cancelled services comprised flights operating on the Delhi–Pune, Delhi–Leh, and Delhi–Mumbai sectors. In addition to the three cancellations, two other SpiceJet departures from the national capital—operating on the Delhi–Darbhanga and Delhi–Mumbai routes—were delayed, leaving scores of passengers waiting at boarding gates and check-in counters for revised departure schedules.

Taking cognizance of the terminal congestion and passenger queries, Delhi Airport issued a public advisory on social media platform X at 10:05 AM on Friday. The airport operator notified travelers that due to ongoing operational challenges faced by SpiceJet, select flights were likely to experience disruptions. Airport authorities requested passengers booked on SpiceJet services to reach out directly to the airline’s customer care desk or check real-time flight tracking portals for accurate updates on rebooking, refunds, and revised boarding timings before commencing their journey to the airport.

Air India Reroutes Email Traffic, Says Flight Operations Remain Normal

In contrast to the schedule interruptions reported by SpiceJet, Air India assured flyers that its flight operations across domestic and international networks remained completely unaffected by the Microsoft outage. In an official statement shared on Friday, the Tata Group-owned airline confirmed that its operational control teams were closely monitoring the global Microsoft service disruption while maintaining normal flight schedules.

To ensure that passenger inquiries and booking requests did not stall due to external mail-server bottlenecks, Air India implemented an immediate technical workaround. The airline announced that it had temporarily rerouted its incoming and outgoing email traffic so that every customer message continues to reach its support teams without interruption. Air India further affirmed that it is actively responding to all passenger emails within its standard 24-hour resolution timeline and that all other communication touchpoints—including voice call centers, AI support tools, social media handles, and automated flight notifications—are operating smoothly.

IndiGo and Akasa Air Issue Advisories Over Email Support Delays

While flight departures for India’s largest carrier IndiGo and newer entrant Akasa Air continued without mass cancellations, both airlines alerted passengers that the global Microsoft outage had temporarily impaired their email-based customer support desks. In a service advisory posted on X, IndiGo informed customers that due to the worldwide Microsoft disruption, its email support services were experiencing technical difficulties and might not be able to receive incoming passenger emails. Apologizing for the inconvenience, IndiGo emphasized that all other customer assistance channels remained fully functional and advised passengers needing urgent help with bookings, baggage, or itinerary changes to interact with its AI-powered virtual assistant, 6E Skai, via the official IndiGo website or mobile application.

Akasa Air issued a closely aligned travel alert warning flyers that its email support channels were experiencing delays and might fail to receive customer messages while the Microsoft issue persisted. To prevent travelers from facing delays in receiving assistance, Akasa Air urged passengers requiring immediate support to contact its 24/7 Akasa Care Centre directly by phone at +91 9606 112131 or reach out via the airline’s verified social media channels.

What Caused the Global Microsoft Outage and Essential Tips for Flyers

The aviation advisories in India stem from a broader global service disruption reported across Microsoft’s productivity suite—most notably Microsoft Exchange Online mailboxes, Outlook, and Microsoft Teams—which began affecting enterprise users worldwide on Thursday and extended into Friday morning. In status updates posted through its official Microsoft 365 Status account on X, Redmond-based Microsoft acknowledged that users were encountering errors accessing Exchange Online mailboxes across multiple connection methods. The technology giant stated that its engineering teams were actively investigating the root cause, testing a targeted fix, and aggressively pursuing all technical pathways to restore normal service and minimize downstream impact on enterprise customers.

For air travelers across New Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Leh, Darbhanga, Lucknow, and other Indian cities, Friday’s incident serves as a timely reminder of how deeply modern aviation depends on cloud-based communication infrastructure. Aviation experts advise passengers scheduled to fly over the next 24 hours to check live PNR and flight status directly on airline mobile apps or official airport websites before leaving home, keep SMS and WhatsApp alerts enabled on registered mobile numbers, and use telephone helplines or in-app chat assistants rather than email for urgent rebooking queries.