Amazon AWS outage disrupts global web as apps, banks, airlines go offline: What exactly happened?

A massive outage at Amazon Web Services (AWS) on Monday caused widespread internet disruption, taking down major apps, websites, and online tools used by millions of people across the world. Services were gradually restored after several hours, but the incident underscored how deeply modern digital infrastructure depends on Amazon’s cloud computing network.

The disruption began around 07:11 GMT when AWS experienced a failure at one of its largest data centres in Virginia. The problem stemmed from a faulty update to the API of DynamoDB, one of AWS’s core database services that stores critical data for numerous online platforms.

The update reportedly affected the Domain Name System (DNS), which acts like the internet’s phone book by translating website names into numerical IP addresses. When the DNS malfunctioned, apps could not locate DynamoDB servers, leading to widespread outages across 113 AWS services.

By 10:11 GMT, Amazon announced that most systems were operational again but warned that a backlog of messages would take additional time to process. Despite the fix, users continued to report issues on platforms like OpenAI, ESPN, and Apple Music through Downdetector, a site that monitors web outages.

Amazon attributed the issue to a technical error during a routine update. The outage disrupted many companies that rely on AWS for cloud computing, web hosting, and data storage. Among those affected were Snapchat, Pinterest, Apple TV, WhatsApp, Signal, Zoom, Slack, Roblox, Fortnite, Starbucks, Etsy, and Venmo.

Some users also found their Ring doorbells and Alexa devices offline, while Kindle downloads and even the Amazon website itself faced interruptions. Major media outlets such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and the Associated Press also reported temporary disruptions.

In the United States, financial institutions and airlines including Delta and United experienced operational challenges. Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase and AI firm Perplexity were among other major tech platforms impacted.

The scale of the outage was amplified by AWS’s dominance in the global cloud services market. Many companies use AWS’s computing power and data storage capabilities to run their apps. When one of its core systems failed, the effect cascaded through thousands of dependent services.

Amazon confirmed that its engineers “were immediately engaged” once the disruption began and worked on “multiple parallel paths to accelerate recovery.” The company said the main issue had been resolved and promised to release a detailed post-event report to explain what went wrong.

While the outage was temporary, it served as a reminder of how reliant much of the digital world has become on a few large cloud providers, and how a single technical error can ripple across global systems in seconds.