Cancellations at Delta Air Lines continue to pile up more than 72 hours after an I.T. outage affecting industries around the world first disrupted travel on Friday.
By 10:45 a.m. EDT Monday, the Atlanta-based carrier had canceled more than 700 flights — and counting — according to data from flight-tracking site FlightAware. That’s about 18% of its operation.
The disruptions came after a nightmarish weekend at U.S. airports, as airlines — primarily Delta and United Airlines — continued to recover from Friday’s tech outage that affected Microsoft Windows clients around the world.
Delta’s operation has, by far, suffered the worst lingering effects of any U.S. airline. After canceling 1,200 flights on both Friday and Saturday, the airline scrubbed more than 1,300 departures on Sunday, per FlightAware.
Overnight, the Atlanta-based carrier also drew fire from the Biden administration about its customer service response to the brewing operational meltdown.
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Delta’s woes continue
In a message to customers Sunday, Delta CEO Ed Bastian cited the large number of Delta’s technological infrastructure that relies on Microsoft programs affected by the outage as the reason for the prolonged disruptions — including critical crew-scheduling software.
“Our teams have been working around the clock to recover and restore full functionality,” Bastian said in the statement.
But Delta’s problems have persisted, leading to scenes of extreme lines at major hubs and passengers sleeping on airport concourse floors. And, they’ve spilled into the new week.
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Numerous U.S. and international carriers were affected by Friday’s I.T. outage, which stemmed from a program update at Austin-based cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike.
Several airlines paused flying Friday morning, and that triggered cascading flight disruptions over the course of the day.
Though some carriers quickly recovered, operations took longer to get back on track at United, which canceled hundreds of flights over the weekend.
For its part, Delta passengers continue to deal with widespread disruptions, with Sunday its worst day for cancellations since the I.T. outage.
What should you do if your flight is canceled?
Though the issues stemmed from a problem at a third-party vendor, the U.S. Department of Transportation is treating these flight cancellations and delays as disruptions within the airlines’ control, a spokesperson told TPG Friday.
That means airlines would be on the hook for guarantees listed on the agency’s Airline Customer Service Dashboard, from meals to hotel accommodations and ground transportation, depending on the traveler’s circumstances.
For days, Delta has affirmed it’s providing those benefits to affected travelers, along with flight vouchers and SkyMiles.
Overnight, though, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg criticized the airline’s response.
“We have received reports of continued disruptions and unacceptable customer service conditions at Delta Air Lines,” Buttigieg wrote on social media, citing hundreds of complaints filed to the DOT. “I have made clear to Delta that we will hold them to all applicable passenger protections.
Among them: federal refund policies. DOT rules specify that passengers whose flight is canceled or significantly delayed are entitled to a cash refund back to their original form of payment — if they don’t accept rebooking and choose not to travel.
Related: What to do if your flight is canceled or significantly delayed
A tumultuous few days for Delta
Delta sees the disruptions of recent days as a major departure from its usual operational reputation. Between Jan. 1 and July 18, the carrier canceled 0.3% of flights, per FlightAware.
Its cancellation rates easily eclipsed 30% on Friday, Saturday and Sunday
The airline touted its operational reliability on the company’s earnings call earlier this month.
“It’s the longer-term lasting damage and lingering operational recovery which can really impact an airline,” John Grant, industry analyst at data firm OAG, wrote in a post Monday.
In all, Delta has already canceled more than 4,000 flights since Friday.
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It’s perhaps the biggest multi-day operational snafu any U.S. airline has seen since Southwest Airlines’ holiday 2022 meltdown, during which the latter carrier canceled nearly 17,000 flights.
Unsurprisingly, Delta’s home base, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), remains by far the hardest-hit U.S. airport, with hundreds of cancellations on Monday alone.
Though it’s not clear when Delta’s disruptions might resolve, the carrier has already said unaccompanied minor flying for children is paused through at least Tuesday.
