Airlines have been dealing with the aftermath of a significant tech outage that disrupted global travel on Friday. While progress has been made in resolving the issues, some flight delays and cancellations have spilled over into Saturday.
On Friday, approximately 3,400 flights to, from, and within the United States were canceled, marking it as the worst day of the year for flight cancellations. This surpassed the previous high on Jan. 15 when airlines faced nearly 3,200 cancellations due to severe winter storms in the U.S.
However, the situation improved on Saturday with a much lower number of delays and cancellations. By midday, airlines had canceled just over 1,000 flights, with Delta Air Lines and United Airlines being among the most affected, as reported by FlightAware.
Delta Air Lines stated that their teams are working tirelessly to assist customers and recover from the disruption by repositioning flight crews and aircraft. Most of the cancellations on Saturday were concentrated in the morning and early afternoon.
Several airlines have announced that they will waive fees, offer refunds, and provide compensation for affected passengers. The Transportation Department also noted that affected travelers may be eligible for reimbursement for expenses such as food, lodging, and transportation.
The tech outage on Friday was triggered by a flawed software update from CrowdStrike, a leading cybersecurity provider, to Microsoft devices. This led to widespread technical failures across various industries, including airlines. Critical systems related to aircraft weight calculations, passenger check-ins, boarding passes issuance, and call center operations were among those impacted.
