Amazon: AWS outage in Bahrain region due to drone activity in the Middle East

Amazon's cloud computing arm AWS has once again been impacted by conflicts in the Middle East, with its Bahrain region services interrupted due to drone activity. This is the second time this month the area has been affected.

According to Reuters, an Amazon spokesperson confirmed that AWS Bahrain region services had experienced a "disruption" due to local drone activity.

Amazon said it is helping customers migrate workloads to other AWS regions but did not disclose the scale of losses or the estimated recovery time. As of Monday evening, AWS had not updated information on its service status page.

Amazon stated in its announcement: "As the situation develops, we advise customers with workloads in the affected region to continue migrating to other locations." This disruption again highlights the real threat ongoing conflict in the Middle East poses to global cloud computing infrastructure, and as AWS is Amazon's most important profit source, its stability is closely watched by the market.

Second disruption this month, UAE facilities previously suffered structural damage

This Bahrain disruption is the second incident where drone activity has affected AWS Bahrain region since the outbreak of US-Israel vs. Iran war. Earlier this month, AWS reported power outages in both Bahrain and UAE facilities, requiring workload transfers to other regions.

Reuters previously reported that the strike on the UAE facility was the first time military action disrupted operation of a major US tech company’s data center. Amazon stated at the time that due to structural damage to the facility, the expected recovery period would be "rather lengthy." AWS described on its status page: "These strikes caused structural damage, interrupted power supply to the infrastructure, and in some cases triggered fire suppression measures, causing additional water damage."

Amazon also stated that the Bahrain region had previously been affected by a drone strike near one of its facilities.

Direct hit or nearby explosion, Amazon does not elaborate

Amazon did not respond to whether the Bahrain facility was directly hit by a drone or affected by a nearby explosion. The company also did not provide further information on the extent of the damage or the expected duration of the disruption.

AWS is the core business unit of Amazon's cloud computing operations. Many well-known websites and government operations rely on its services, and it is also the main driver of Amazon's overall profitability. The continued disruption to this business caused by Middle East conflict is drawing broader attention to the geopolitical risks facing tech infrastructure.

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