Flight cancellations continue to climb this weekend in the wake of Friday’s IT outage that wreaked havoc globally — affecting everything from air travel to banking and critical infrastructure.
Though airlines successfully got planes back in the air Friday following early-morning operational pauses by several carriers, residual disruptions have made Saturday another messy day at airports.
By Saturday evening, airlines had canceled more than 1,800 flights in the U.S., according to data from flight-tracking site FlightAware. More than 7,000 flights in the U.S. have been delayed Saturday.
That comes just a day after airlines canceled an additional 3,400 flights — and delayed a staggering 12,895 more — on Friday. All told, more than 5,000 flights have been canceled in the U.S. and another 20,000-plus delayed since the IT outage first began affecting flights.
Hundreds of additional cancellations are already planned for Sunday.
Want more aviation news? Sign up for TPG’s free biweekly Aviation newsletter.
Which airlines are affected?
Among U.S. carriers, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines appear to be experiencing the worst residual operational effects this weekend, with hundreds of cancellations between the two carriers.
Delta Air Lines
More than 1,000 Delta flights have been canceled as of Saturday evening, per FlightAware — nearly a third of its operation. More than 40% of Delta’s flights were delayed Saturday.
In a social media post, the Atlanta-based carrier noted the disruptions affected both its mainline and regional Delta Connection operation.
“Additional cancellations are expected as some of Delta’s technology continues to recover from Friday morning’s vendor-caused issue,” the Atlanta-based carrier said in a statement earlier Saturday.
Delta is continuing its operational recovery Saturday following an outside vendor technology issue that prompted the airline and many others to pause flying for several hours on Friday.
— Delta News Hub (@DeltaNewsHub) July 20, 2024
Delta has also paused all unaccompanied minor flying until Sunday, affecting all children under the age of 18 planning to fly solo.
The carrier has canceled more than 100 planned flights for Sunday.
United Airlines
For its part, United said late Friday that most of its systems had recovered from the tech outage, but warned its operation “may continue to experience some disruption.”
While most of our systems have recovered from the worldwide third-party software outage, we may continue to experience some disruption to our operation, including flight delays and cancellations.
Our travel waiver allows you to change your flight or connection city. To see your…
— United Airlines (@united) July 20, 2024
As of Saturday evening, United had canceled more than 430 flights, about 14% of its operation, per FlightAware.
Sunday is also looking a bit dicey for United, with FlightAware already showing 197 cancellations for the Chicago-based carrier.
United, like Delta and other U.S. airlines, has issued a travel advisory that allows even passengers traveling on restrictive tickets to make itinerary changes — and without a fare difference.
What does the airline owe you after a flight cancellation?
The U.S. Department of Transportation is considering these disruptions to be “controllable” cancellations and delays, a spokesperson for the agency told TPG Friday.
That means the DOT sees these flight problems as the airline’s responsibility — and is calling on airlines to fulfill promises made on the Airlines Customer Service Dashboard, found at FlightRights.gov, for guarantees like meals, hotel and ground transportation costs for stranded passengers.
“Our department has reminded airlines of their responsibilities to passengers,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg wrote on social media Friday. “As with any mechanical or technical failure, airlines are required in this case to take care of passengers experiencing long delays or cancellations.
As airlines recover from today’s global tech outage, our department has reminded airlines of their responsibilities to passengers. As with any mechanical or technical failure, airlines are required in this case to take care of passengers experiencing long delays or cancellations. pic.twitter.com/8LIKJVO66q
— Secretary Pete Buttigieg (@SecretaryPete) July 19, 2024
Delta has made clear it’s already providing those benefits to affected passengers.
Read more: 8 best credit cards with travel insurance of July 2024
Can you get a refund for a canceled flight?
Keep in mind, under DOT policy, if your flight is canceled or significantly delayed, you’re entitled to a refund back to the original form of payment if you ultimately choose not to travel.
You don’t have to accept a voucher or frequent flyer miles.
However, if you accept the airline’s offer of rebooking, you wouldn’t be refund-eligible.
A messy few days for air travel
Friday’s IT outage at Austin-based cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike came during a system update, and affected Microsoft clients all over the world.
The outage caused disruptions to key digital infrastructure at numerous airlines, helping to fuel thousands of flight cancellations globally on Friday. Airlines canceled more than 3,400 flights in the U.S. alone Friday.
With Delta and United leading the way with lingering disruptions Saturday, those airlines’ key hubs are among the most affected.
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) — Delta’s home base — has, by far, the most cancellations of any U.S. airport Saturday, FlightAware shows.
Other Delta and United hubs are also heavily affected, from Denver International Airport (DEN) to Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport (ORD), Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW) and Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) — among others.
American Airlines, which canceled more than 400 flights Friday has largely seen its operation recover with just a few dozen cancellations Saturday — less than 1% of its operation, per FlightAware.
“That recovery was complete yesterday and our operation — the largest of all major network carriers — is off to a strong start today,” American said in a statement to TPG Saturday.
Several other carriers are also reporting low cancellation rates, from Alaska Airlines to JetBlue and Southwest.
Among the budget airlines, Spirit has encountered the most significant challenges Saturday, with 125 cancellations, about 13% of its network.
Here’s more on what you can do if your flight is canceled or delayed.
Related reading:
- When is the best time to book flights for the cheapest airfare?
- The best airline credit cards
- What exactly are airline miles, anyway?
- 6 real-life strategies you can use when your flight is canceled or delayed
- Maximize your airfare: The best credit cards for booking flights
- The best credit cards to reach elite status
- What are points and miles worth? TPG’s monthly valuations