Mass flight cancellations disrupted U.S. airports for a third straight day on Sunday, following a technical glitch on Friday. affecting Microsoft Windows customers It caused IT infrastructure to go out around the world, upended many airline operations and even prompted the CEO of Delta Air Lines to issue an apology on Sunday afternoon.
Delta and United Airlines again canceled hundreds of flights on Sunday, as the carriers continued to work to restore operations following issues caused by a third-party vendor late last week.
The problems have left airport terminals across the country congested this weekend, with long lines of passengers waiting to speak to customer service – and images of passengers sleeping on airport floors.
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By Sunday evening, airlines had canceled more than 1,700 flights in the United States.
Delta led the way with more than 1,000 cancellations on Sunday, more than a quarter of its operations, according to data from flight-tracking site FlightAware. United was second, with 262 cancellations on Sunday, about 9% of its schedule.
In total, airlines have canceled more than 7,000 flights in the U.S. since Friday’s disruption — more than 3,400 of them on Delta, according to FlightAware data.
In a note to customers Sunday afternoon, Delta CEO Ed Bastian apologized for the prolonged disruptions.
“Delta connects the world, and we understand how difficult it is when your flights are disrupted,” Bastian said. “We thank you for your patience as we work to resolve these issues, restore our operations and return to the reliability you expect from Delta.”
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Delta has already canceled at least 155 flights scheduled for Monday.
Delta Air Lines
The Atlanta-based carrier said Sunday it was still in the process of getting operations back on track after an IT outage at Austin-based Crowdstrike caused it — and several other U.S. airlines — to temporarily stop flying on Friday.
The problems affected the Microsoft Windows operating system that powers many of Delta’s applications, Bastian said. The problems affected a key crew-tracking tool, leaving the airline unable to “effectively address the unprecedented number of changes” caused by the shutdown, he added.
The problems were compounded by the fact that the disruptions came on what was expected to be Delta’s busiest travel weekend of the summer, Bastian said.
Thursday was the third-busiest day ever at TSA checkpoints nationwide.
Unaccompanied minor flying on layover
Delta has extended its temporary suspension of unaccompanied minors flying through Tuesday (July 23) and extended travel waivers that allow passengers more flexibility to make changes to their flight itinerary — a move other affected airlines, including United, have taken.
How Delta Responds
Delta said Sunday it is offering meal vouchers, hotel stays and transportation to affected customers as needed. “As a gesture of apology,” Bastian said, the company is offering customers travel vouchers and Delta SkyMiles.
DOT Refund Policy
Keep in mind that it is under the supervision of the US Department of Transportation. Policy, Passengers whose flight is cancelled or significantly delayed are entitled to a refund – to the original method of payment – for the unused portion of their ticket if they ultimately choose not to travel and do not accept a rebooking.
Technical challenges remain.
Delta notes that customers can monitor and manage flight itinerary changes on the airline’s website and mobile app. However, the carrier noted that these tools were “swamped by traffic, causing intermittent performance challenges.”
The airline said it was working to install the tools, and warned that its ability to respond to social media messages was also limited.
United Airlines
In its latest update on Saturday, United told TPG that its customer service call systems had been fully restored, and noted that most technology systems were back up and running — but warned that additional cancellations and delays could occur over the weekend.
FlightAware data showed U.S. flight cancellations on Saturday were down 37% from Friday, but still topped 1,600 for the day, led by Delta’s 1,200.
Delta and United’s major hubs were the hardest-hit U.S. airports this weekend, from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP), Denver International Airport (DEN), and Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) — among others.
What do airlines owe you after a cancellation or delay?
Although the issues stem from a third-party vendor, not the airlines directly, the U.S. Department of Transportation considers these cancellations and delays “controllable” — in other words, the airline’s responsibility — an agency spokesperson told TPG on Friday.
This means that the promises made by the airlines and stated on the airline’s customer service dashboard will apply. Here’s what each airline told the Department of Transportation it will guarantee after a cancellation or major delay.
Other important resources:
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg took to social media Saturday to remind the agency of its refund policies.
“I’m hearing reports that some airlines are only offering flight credits,” Buttigieg wrote on Twitter. “Let me be clear — you are entitled to an immediate refund if your flight is canceled and you don’t rebook.”
Anomaly in 2024
The operational disruptions over the past 48 hours come amid a year that has been largely free of major crashes in air travel.
Between Jan. 1 and July 18, U.S. airlines canceled 1.3% of flights, according to FlightAware. Compare that to a 2.6% cancellation rate during the same period in 2022.
Delta specifically promoted its operational reliability during the carrier’s tenure. Second-quarter earnings were called on July 11. The carrier scored high marks in both the latest J.D. Power airline rankings and TPG’s 2024 Best Airlines report, due in part to its operational reliability.
The latest large-scale operational issues in the industry include a days-long chaos at United last summer that prompted the carrier to step up its cooperation with the Federal Aviation Administration over operations at Newark…and an FAA computer outage in January 2023 that led to the first nationwide grounding since Sept. 11, 2001. The latest incident came just days after Southwest Airlines’ 2022 holiday operational disaster.
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