Delta Air Lines faced significant operational challenges on Monday, canceling hundreds of flights as the company worked to recover from a global software outage that affected air travel for three days.
On Sunday alone, Delta scrapped approximately 1,300 flights and delayed another 1,600, according to FlightAware. This followed a previous disruption over the weekend where more than 3,500 total Delta and Delta Connection flights were canceled between Friday and Saturday.
As of 8 a.m. ET on Monday, Delta had already canceled 626 flights and delayed 144—amounting to about 20% of its scheduled operations for the day. In contrast, American Airlines reported just 38 cancellations and 155 delays, representing around 5% of its planned flights.
The disruptions were traced back to a problematic software update executed by cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike late Thursday, which adversely affected Microsoft’s Windows operating systems. The resulting system failures left corporate users struggling with significant access issues, including encountering the notorious “Blue Screen of Death.”
The incident had a widespread impact across various sectors, including healthcare, retail, and financial services, with airlines experiencing some of the most severe disruptions. On Friday alone, over 46,000 flights were delayed and 5,171 canceled.
Delta CEO Ed Bastian expressed regret over the cancellations, stating, “Canceling a flight is always a last resort, and something we don’t take lightly… I want to apologize to every one of you who have been impacted by these events.” He emphasized that many Delta applications rely on Microsoft Windows, which hindered essential functions like crew tracking during the outage.
In response to the ongoing challenges, Delta has implemented a travel waiver to allow customers to change their flights at no extra charge, while also providing meal vouchers, accommodation, and transport arrangements.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg communicated on social media that his department had received “hundreds of complaints” regarding Delta’s management of the situation, asserting that the airline must ensure refunds, complimentary rebooking, and prompt reimbursements for impacted customers. He added, “No one should be stranded at an airport overnight or stuck on hold for hours waiting to talk to a customer service agent.”