Delta Air Lines canceled hundreds of flights on Monday as the airline continued to recover from a global software outage that caused widespread grounding and delays.
On Sunday, Delta scrapped 1,300 flights and delayed another 1,600, as reported by FlightAware. The previous Friday and Saturday, the airline had already canceled over 3,500 Delta and Delta Connection flights.
As of around 8 a.m. ET on Monday, Delta had canceled 626 flights and delayed 144, representing about 20% of its scheduled operations. In comparison, American Airlines canceled only 38 flights and delayed 155, making up approximately 5% of its planned flights.
The problems for Delta originated from a flawed software update by cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike. This malfunction affected Microsoft’s Windows operating systems, leaving many corporate users without access and some encountering the “Blue Screen of Death.”
The outage impacted nearly every major industry, including healthcare, delivery services, retail, and finance, with airlines experiencing some of the most significant disruptions. On Friday alone, over 46,000 flights were delayed and 5,171 were canceled, with Delta being most severely affected.
Delta CEO Ed Bastian expressed regret for the disruptions, stating, “Canceling a flight is always a last resort, and something we don’t take lightly. I want to apologize to everyone impacted by these events.” He mentioned that Delta relies heavily on applications using Microsoft Windows, including a crucial tool for crew tracking, which was unable to adapt due to the system failure. The airline has also implemented a travel waiver allowing customers to modify flights for free and offered meal vouchers, hotel accommodations, and transportation.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg stated on social media that his department had received “hundreds of complaints” regarding Delta’s response to the disruptions. He emphasized that Delta should provide refunds, free rebooking, and prompt reimbursements for food and hotel accommodations for affected passengers. “No one should be stranded at an airport overnight or stuck on hold for hours waiting to talk to a customer service agent,” Buttigieg added.