Commercial airlines are still feeling the pinch days after the global CrowdStrike outage resulted in flight cancellations and travel delays for four consecutive days—and counting.
Airlines Impacted By The CrowdStrike Outage
Delta Air Lines, in particular, is the U.S. carrier still experiencing the most harmful effects from the outage. As of the morning of July 22, FlightAware reports the airline has over 700 cancellations and 400 flight delays that will increase as the day progresses
By comparison, American Airlines, United Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Frontier Airlines and Southwest Airlines each have 40 cancellations or fewer over the same period.
Clearly, Delta has the most applications linked to the affected Microsoft Windows operating system. Experts are resolving the malfunction, although the process is tedious as it can require rebooting of computer systems at each airport gate across its system. The airline canceled more than 4,800 flights over the first three days and experienced numerous delays.
However, multiple airlines cumulatively reported over 46,000 delays and 5,171 cancellations on Friday, July 19, the initial day of the outage, which gradually resolved over the weekend.
This software outage has impacted many brands across various industries
Delta Air Lines Travel Waiver And Updates
In response to the significant outages impacting thousands of travelers, Delta Air Lines is issuing travel waivers to make itinerary changes at no additional cost. The airline is providing meal vouchers, hotel accommodations and transportation, too.
“The technology issue occurred on the busiest travel weekend of the summer, with our booked loads exceeding 90%, limiting our re-accommodation 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,” says CEO Ed Bastian.
Impacted customers can also anticipate receiving Delta SkyMiles and travel vouchers as compensation. Real-time status updates are available on the Delta News Hub.
Unaccompanied Minor Travel Pause
Delta is also suspending unaccompanied minor travel through at least July 23, until the outage resolves and normal operations resume. The airline is requesting travelers not to book such flights until the outage is resolved. Further, existing itineraries can call the airline to make adjustments.
While most domestic and international airlines have nearly recovered from the CrowdStrike outage, Delta Air Lines is still experiencing turbulence that will extend into the current week, resulting in further delays and cancellations. Customers can work with the airline online, by phone or through the Fly Delta app to make itinerary changes and receive compensation.