ADF managed Airflow error : 'ReferenceError: Cannot access 'Z' before initialization'

Question

Hi,

I would like to obtain the confirmation that the following error, occurring when creating a new managed Airflow integration runtime in ADF, is caused by the ADF of being new/recent (created in early 2025) and not supporting anymore Airflow as a WOM, which should now be created in Fabric since Q1 2025.

Below is the Airflow environment setup used for my experience :

Another member of the community reported the same error, but I highly doubt this is a client-side error as suggested by the answer. I observed the same behaviour on different web browsers, machines and Azure subscriptions, which all have one thing in common : no Airflow WOM created in the past for the ADFs.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-ca/answers/questions/2260571/unable-to-create-airflow-workflow-orchestration-ma

Thanks,

Louis

Answer 1

Hello Louis Lalonde,

Thank you for posting your question in the Microsoft Q&A forum. 

The error "ReferenceError: Cannot access 'Z' before initialization" when creating an Airflow integration runtime in a new Azure Data Factory (ADF) instance aligns with Microsoft’s Q1 2025 shift to Fabric-based Airflow orchestration. Since early 2025, ADF no longer supports Airflow as a Workflow Orchestration Manager (WOM), and attempts to provision it in newly created ADF instances fail with this cryptic error. 

Key observations confirming this: 

1. Legacy ADFs (pre-2025) with existing Airflow WOMs continue working. 
2. New ADFs universally fail with this error, as Airflow is now Fabric-exclusive. 
3. Microsoft’s documentation now directs users to Fabric Data Pipeline for Airflow workflows. 

Microsoft seems to be shifting Airflow orchestration capabilities to Azure Data Factory in Fabric, which aligns with broader integration efforts across the Azure ecosystem. If you're working with a newer ADF instance and need Airflow support, exploring Fabric-based orchestration or alternative orchestration tools within ADF might be necessary. 

Resolution: You may plan migrate to Microsoft Fabric or use Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) for custom Airflow deployments. 

Reference documentations you may review: 

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-factory/tutorial-run-existing-pipeline-with-airflow 

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/fabric/data-factory/apache-airflow-jobs-concepts  

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