Delta Air Lines Faces Widespread Cancellations Following Tech Outage

Delta Air Lines continues to experience significant disruptions following a major global cyber outage last week, leading to the cancellation of over 5,000 flights since Friday. The Atlanta-based carrier is one of the hardest hit among U.S. airlines, with ongoing challenges in resuming normal operations.

On Sunday alone, Delta canceled approximately 1,250 flights, adding to the 3,500 previously scrapped flights, as reported by FlightAware. This substantial reduction in service has affected thousands of Delta passengers across the United States, prompting some to resort to renting cars to travel hundreds of miles or altering their travel plans entirely.

The tech outage primarily impacted Delta’s crew tracking system, a critical application for managing flight operations. Despite efforts to stabilize the system, Delta has not provided a specific timeline for when it expects to fully restore service. An additional 305 flights have already been canceled for Monday, indicating continued operational challenges.

The origin of the outage was traced back to a software update by global cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, which inadvertently caused system issues for several Microsoft customers, including multiple airlines. While other carriers like United Airlines have mostly recovered, with only 9% of their flights canceled on Sunday, Delta’s recovery has been notably slower.

Delta CEO Ed Bastian has addressed the ongoing situation, explaining that the outage severely disrupted their Microsoft Windows systems and particularly affected a crew tracking tool essential for flight scheduling. Bastian has communicated to both customers and employees the airline’s efforts to adjust schedules and maintain safety as their top priority.

The U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has also been involved, discussing the issue with Bastian and emphasizing the airline’s responsibilities to its customers. Buttigieg assured that the Department of Transportation would enforce all passenger protections vigorously, highlighting the severity of the disruption experienced by travelers.

As Delta works through these operational hurdles, the focus remains on stabilizing the affected systems and minimizing the impact on passengers, with hopes of returning to regular flight schedules as swiftly as possible.