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Mass flights were canceled at U.S. airports for a third straight day on Sunday, due to the ongoing fallout from a technical glitch that occurred on Friday. Impact on Microsoft Windows customers The cyberattack has caused IT infrastructure to go out around the world — and disrupted many airline operations, prompting Delta Air Lines' CEO to apologize Sunday afternoon.
Delta and United Airlines canceled hundreds of flights Sunday as the carriers continued to work to restore operations following problems caused by a third-party vendor late last week.
The problems have led to congestion at airport terminals across the country this week, with long lines of passengers waiting to speak to customer service – and images of passengers sleeping on airport lounge floors.
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By Sunday afternoon, airlines had canceled more than 1,200 flights in the United States.
Delta led the way with more than 700 flights canceled Sunday — nearly a fifth of its operations, according to data from flight-tracking site FlightAware. United was second, with 259 flights canceled Sunday — about 8% of its schedule.
In all, airlines have canceled more than 6,700 flights in the U.S. since Friday's disruptions — nearly 3,200 of those on Delta, according to FlightAware data.
In a note to customers sent Sunday afternoon, Delta CEO Ed Bastian apologized for the prolonged disruption.
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“Delta is in the business of connecting 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.”
Delta Air Lines
The Atlanta-based airline 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.
Bastian said the problems affected the Microsoft Windows operating system that powers many of Delta’s applications. He added that the problems affected a key crew tracking tool, leaving the airline unable to “handle the unprecedented number of changes” caused by the shutdown.
Bastian said the problems were compounded by the disruptions occurring on what was expected to be Delta's busiest travel weekend of the summer.
Thursday was the third-busiest day ever at TSA checkpoints nationwide.
Unaccompanied Minor Temporary Stopover
Delta has extended its suspension of flights for unaccompanied children 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 accommodations and transportation to affected customers as needed. “As a gesture of apology, the airline is offering customers travel vouchers and Delta SkyMiles,” Bastian said.
Department of Transportation Refund Policy
Keep in mind that under the US Department of Transportation Policy, Passengers whose flights are cancelled or significantly delayed are entitled to a refund – to their 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 company’s website and mobile app. However, the company noted that these tools were “flooded with 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 communication systems had been fully restored, and noted that most technology systems were back up and running — but warned of more cancellations and delays possible over the weekend.
Flight cancellations in the U.S. fell 37% on Saturday compared to Friday — but were still above 1,600 for the day, led by Delta, which recorded 1,200 cancellations, FlightAware data showed.
Delta and United's main hubs were the hardest hit at U.S. airports this week, from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) to Minneapolis-Saint 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 problems were caused by a third party, not the airlines directly, the U.S. Department of Transportation considers these cancellations and delays “controllable,” or 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 airlines' customer service dashboard will apply. Here's what each airline has told the U.S. 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 point out the agency's refund policies.
“I’ve heard 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 do not rebook.”
Anomaly in 2024
The operational disruptions over the past 48 hours come amid a year that has largely seen no major collapses in air travel.
From Jan. 1 to 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 touted its operational reliability during the carrier's tenure. Q2 earnings call on July 11. The airline scored high marks in both J.D. Power's recent airline rankings and TPG's Best Airlines 2024 report, in part due to its operational reliability.
The latest widespread operational problems in the industry include a multi-day problem at United last summer that prompted the airline to step up its cooperation with the FAA over operations at Newark… and an FAA computer outage in January 2023 that prompted the first nationwide grounding since Sept. 11, 2001. The latest incident came just days after Southwest Airlines’ operational disaster over the 2022 holiday season.
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