1,000+ US flights canceled Saturday: United, Delta still working to recover from outage

Posted by Admin July 20, 2024 Travel

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A global IT outage on Friday is still wreaking havoc on air travel, causing widespread flight cancellations and delays.
The cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike blamed the global tech outage on a defect in an update for Microsoft Windows hosts.
Airlines are doing what they can to provide extra flexibility to those affected by the outage.

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A global IT outage on Friday is still wreaking havoc on air travel, causing widespread flight cancellations and delays, leaving thousands of passengers stranded and frustrated.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration, several U.S. carriers, including American Airlines, United Airlines, and Delta Air Lines, issued ground stops for all their flights early on Friday due to communication problems, which caused a domino effect into Saturday.

There were over 980 flights canceled and nearly 1,400 delays as of 9 a.m. ET Saturday, according to flight-tracking website FlightAware. Delta and United Airlines have been hit the hardest with 382 and 240 cancellations so far.

Airlines rely on complex systems: Why the CrowdStrike hiccup could cause days of chaos

The cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike blamed the global tech outage on a defect in an update for Microsoft Windows hosts.

“Today was not a security or cyber incident. Our customers remain fully protected,” Crowdstrike CEO George Kurtz posted Friday on X. “We understand the gravity of the situation and are deeply sorry for the inconvenience and disruption. We are working with all impacted customers to ensure that systems are back up and they can deliver the services their customers are counting on. As noted earlier, the issue has been identified and a fix has been deployed. There was an issue with a Falcon content update for Windows Hosts.”

The aviation sector was hit particularly hard due to its sensitivity to timings. Airlines rely on a closely coordinated schedule often run by air traffic control. Just one delay of a few minutes can throw off a flight schedule for take-offs and landings for an airport and airline for the rest of the day.

“The issue affected many separate systems, such as those used for calculating aircraft weight, checking in customers, and phone systems in our call centers,” United Airlines said in a statement Friday. “After pausing all departures overnight, flights resumed on Friday morning and we are working diligently to get our customers to their destinations.”

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CrowdStrike update brings downs Microsoft systems

Cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike deployed an update that crashed Windows systems worldwide.

Are flights still grounded? How long will flight delays last?

“Ground stops and delays will be intermittent at various airports as the airlines work through residual technology issues,” the FAA said, adding that it’s working closely with airlines to resume normal operations.

Travelers are advised to contact their airlines and monitor the FAA’s website for the latest information.

How to find the reason for flight delay

Customers can ask airlines why their flight is canceled or delayed, but the Department of Transportation confirmed that it considers the delays and cancellations caused by Friday’s IT outage to be “controllable” by the airlines. While airlines may say they didn’t cause the computer error, it means that the DOT will hold them responsible for upholding the commitments they’ve made to customers when it comes to policies like rebooking or hotel and meal vouchers as the mess gets sorted out. Every airline’s policy is outlined on the DOT customer service dashboard.

The Bureau of Transportation Statistics also tracks causes of delays and cancellations.

Airline waivers

Airlines are doing what they can to provide extra flexibility to those affected by the outage.

Delta issued a waiver allowing all passengers traveling Friday to rebook their flights.
United issued a waiver for select airports so passengers can make changes if their flights are affected, though a United spokesperson told USA TODAY that nearly all of the airline’s flights depart or arrive in one of the airports covered by the waiver.
Spirit issued a waiver allowing customers who are booked to fly Friday or Saturday through any airport in its network to change their flights at no additional charge.

What happens if my flight is canceled?

Department of Transportation rules require all airlines to offer customers a refund if their flights are canceled for any reason, but customers may be entitled to additional compensation if a cancellation is within the airline’s control.

What should I do if my flight is delayed?

If your flight is experiencing a long delay, the Transportation Department suggests asking airline staff if they will pay for meals or a hotel room.

The DOT dashboard reflects airlines’ official policies, but many carriers handle compensation for delays on a case-by-case basis and may provide vouchers or other benefits in some situations that are not formally covered.

What is considered a significant flight delay?

Each airline defines significant delays differently, but the DOT’s dashboard identifies which airlines provide compensation for controllable delays of 3 or more hours.

For instance, all major U.S. carriers are supposed to provide a meal voucher for flights delayed by at least 3 hours for reasons within their control. Additionally, Alaska, JetBlue and Southwest offer credit or a travel voucher when a controllable delay “results in passenger waiting for 3 hours or more from the scheduled departure time,” according to the dashboard.

How to file compensation for a delayed flight

Travelers seeking monetary compensation for delayed flights should file a claim with their respective airlines. Passengers seeking other types of compensation, like frequent flyer miles, may be able to request those through the airline’s customer service.