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Delta Air Lines canceled hundreds of flights on Monday as the airline struggles to recover three days after a global software outage grounded and delayed trips around the world.
The Atlanta-based airline canceled 1,300 flights on Sunday and delayed 1,600, according to FlightAware. It had previously canceled more than 3,500 Delta and Delta Connection flights between Friday and Saturday, according to the company.
As of about 8 a.m. ET on Monday, Delta had canceled 626 flights and delayed 144 for the day — about 20% of its planned operations. For comparison, American Airlines had canceled just 38 flights and delayed 155 — about 5% of its planned flights.
Delta’s issues stem from a botched software update by cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike late on Thursday night. A defect in the planned update impacted Microsoft’s Windows operating systems, leaving corporate users without access to their systems and, in some cases, grappling with the “Blue Screen of Death.”
Almost every major industry was affected by the incident, including healthcare service providers, delivery companies, retailers and financial institutions. Airlines and airports were hit harder than most: On Friday alone, more than 46,000 flights were delayed and another 5,171 were canceled, according to FlightAware. Delta was hit the hardest.
“Canceling a flight is always a last resort, and something we don’t take lightly,” Delta CEO Ed Bastian said in a statement Sunday. “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.”
Bastian said Delta has a “significant number of applications” that use Microsoft Windows, including a crew tracking-related tool that was unable to process the changes triggered by the system shutdown. Delta said it has issued a travel waiver that gives customers the chance to change their flights for free as well as meal vouchers, hotel rooms, and transportation.
Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg said late on Sunday on social media that his department received “hundreds of complaints” over Delta’s handling of the disruptions. Buttigieg said Delta must provide refunds, free rebooking, and timely reimbursements for food and hotel stays to affected customers.
“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.