CTD the day before big update eachtime?

[TheSevenflyer]

No, it is not normal.
This may have been the reason.

Servers Offline January 30, 2022 - Having to Use a VPN to Connect to any Online Functionality

I live in the North of England. Why am I having to connect to a VPN in order to get any online functionality today? This is not the first time I have had to use a VPN to fully access MSFS. In fact, I subscribed to a VPN exclusively because of MSFS’s tendency to either boot me out, or simply not even let me in, to the online portion of the sim. How come these things always seem to happen at weekends, holidays, etc? That last line is a rhetorical question. Thank you.