Delta Air Lines canceled hundreds of flights on Monday as the airline continues to address the fallout from a global software outage that disrupted travel for three days.
On Sunday alone, Delta scrapped 1,300 flights and experienced 1,600 delays, according to FlightAware. The airline had previously canceled over 3,500 flights within a two-day span from Friday to Saturday.
By 8 a.m. ET on Monday, Delta reported 626 cancellations and 144 delays for the day, constituting around 20% of its scheduled operations. In comparison, American Airlines saw only 38 cancellations and 155 delays, about 5% of its operations.
The problems stemmed from a flawed software update by cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, which affected Microsoft’s Windows systems late Thursday. This defect left corporate users unable to access their systems and caused some to encounter the “Blue Screen of Death.”
The outage had widespread repercussions across multiple industries, including healthcare, delivery services, retail, and finance. However, the aviation sector faced particularly severe impacts, with over 46,000 flights delayed and more than 5,171 cancellations on Friday alone.
Delta’s CEO, Ed Bastian, expressed regret over the disruption, stating that canceling flights is a last resort. He apologized to all affected travelers, emphasizing the airline’s commitment to connecting people and acknowledging the difficulties caused by travel disruptions.
Bastian mentioned that a significant number of Delta’s applications rely on Microsoft Windows, including a crew tracking tool that was impacted by the system failure. To assist customers during this period, Delta has offered travel waivers allowing free flight changes, alongside meal vouchers, hotel accommodations, and transportation.
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg announced on social media that his department received numerous complaints regarding Delta’s handling of the situation. He emphasized that Delta must ensure customers receive refunds, free rebooking options, and prompt reimbursement for meals and hotel stays.
Buttigieg stressed that no traveler should be left stranded at an airport overnight or forced to wait extensively for customer service.