Delta Continues to Struggle After Thousands of Flight Disruptions Spill Into Monday — What to Know If You're Affected

22.07.2024 - 19:31 / travelandleisure.com / Pete Buttigieg / Ed Bastian

Cancellations and flight disruptions stretched into a fourth day on Monday after Delta Air Lines struggled to recover from a global IT outage.

The airline has canceled more than 680 flights on Monday as of this morning and delayed more than 390, the most of any other airline, according to data from flight tracker FlightAware. Across all airlines, there were more than 840 total cancellations within, into, or out of the United States and more than 1,800 delays.

Disruptions started on Friday after a cybersecurity firm tried to deploy a faulty update to computers running Microsoft Windows. On Friday, there were a total of 3,403 cancellations within, into, or out of the U.S., followed by 2,145 on Saturday, and 2,076 on Sunday, according to FlightAware.

Delta was responsible for the lion's share of those with more than 1,200 cancellations each day on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

In a statement on Sunday, the airline’s CEO Ed Bastian apologized for the issues and promised impacted customers Delta SkyMiles and travel vouchers “as a gesture of apology.” 

“Canceling a flight is always a last resort, and something we don't take lightly,” Bastian said in the statement. “The technology issue occurred on the busiest travel weekend of the summer, with our booked loads exceeding 90%, limiting our reaccommodation capabilities. I want to apologize to every one of you who have been impacted by these events. Delta is in the business of connecting the world, and we understand how difficult it can be when your travels are disrupted.” 

To help affected passengers, Delta extended a travel waiver it issued through Monday, but required all travel be rebooked by July 27. The airline said in a statement it was also reaching out to passengers about re-booking options and was notifying customers about flight cancellations and delays through its app and through text messages.

Delta said it would also issue SkyMiles or a travel voucher to passengers “based on the customer’s affected travels” and would cover eligible expenses, including meal vouchers, hotel accommodations, and ground transportation. 

A representative for Delta did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday from Travel + Leisure.

However, as of Sunday, the Department of Transportation (DOT) had received hundreds of complaints about Delta following reports of “continued disruptions and unacceptable customer service,” Sec. Pete Buttigieg said in a statement on X.

“I have made clear to Delta that we will hold them to all applicable passenger protections,” Buttigieg said. “Delta must provide prompt refunds to consumers who choose not to take rebooking, free rebooking for those who do, and timely reimbursements for food and hotel stays to consumers