Delta Air Lines canceled hundreds of flights on Monday, continuing to grapple with the aftermath of a global software outage that caused significant delays and cancellations over the weekend.
On Sunday alone, the airline canceled 1,300 flights and experienced 1,600 delays, as reported by FlightAware. In total, Delta and Delta Connection had previously canceled more than 3,500 flights between Friday and Saturday.
By 8 a.m. ET on Monday, Delta had canceled 626 flights and delayed an additional 144, accounting for about 20% of its scheduled operations. In contrast, American Airlines had only canceled 38 flights and delayed 155, representing approximately 5% of its planned flights.
The disruptions originated from a faulty software update implemented by cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike on Thursday night, which negatively affected Microsoft’s Windows operating systems. This incident left numerous corporate users unable to access their systems and, in some cases, faced with critical errors like the “Blue Screen of Death.”
Various sectors, including healthcare, retail, delivery, and finance, were affected, but airlines, particularly Delta, encountered the most severe problems. On Friday, over 46,000 flights were delayed, and 5,171 were canceled, with Delta being particularly hard hit.
Delta CEO Ed Bastian acknowledged the difficulties the airline faced, emphasizing that canceling flights is a last resort. He extended his apologies to those impacted and affirmed Delta’s commitment to reconnecting passengers despite the disruptions.
Bastian noted that Delta relies on multiple applications running on Microsoft Windows, including a crucial crew tracking tool, which was unable to adapt to the operational challenges posed by the system failure. To assist affected travelers, Delta has issued a travel waiver allowing for free flight changes and is providing meal vouchers, hotel accommodations, and transportation.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg took to social media on Sunday to express concern over Delta’s management of the situation, stating that his department had received numerous complaints. He asserted that Delta is obligated to offer refunds, free rebooking, and timely compensation for food and hotel expenses to those impacted.
“No one should be stranded at an airport overnight or stuck on hold for hours waiting to talk to a customer service agent,” Buttigieg stated.