Flight cancellations ease after IT outage but disruptions continue

The United Airlines terminal on July 19, 2024 as a global technology outage affected LAX airport in Los Angeles.

Myung J. Chun | Los Angeles Times | Getty Images

Flight cancellations and delays continued on Saturday as airlines worked to recover from a global IT outage sparked chaos at airports and for other industries a day earlier.

More than 1,800 flights were canceled on Saturday, with over 1,200 of them in the United States, according to flight-tracking site FlightAware. More than 3,700 U.S. flights were delayed.

On Friday, more than 5,000 flights were canceled worldwide, with about 3,400 in the U.S. Over 12,000 U.S. flights were delayed.

The disruptions were similar to severe weather like a winter or tropical storm but airlines had no time to prepare for the outage, leaving them scrambling to accommodate customers ahead of a summer weekend.

A software update from CrowdStrike that went awry led to a major outage of Microsoft systems for businesses around the world.

“I am proud of our teams across the globe who worked around the clock today to safely get our operation back on track and care for our customers after the most disruptive technology outage in history,” said United Airlines COO Toby Enqvist in a statement late Friday. “While we had to cancel and delay far more flights than we ever want to, we are poised to return to a near-normal operation on Saturday.”

About 11% of United’s mainline flights were canceled on Saturday, down from 22% on Friday, according to FlightAware data. Delta Air Lines canceled about 17% of its Saturday flights, an improvement from 31% a day earlier.

Airlines waived fare differences and fees for affected customers.

How much customers with impacted flights will be reimbursed for additional expenses like meals or hotels may depend on the airline’s specific policy.

But one mandate is clear, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation: Customers are entitled to a refund for a canceled flight if they do not choose to travel on an alternate flight or accept a voucher.

“I am hearing reports of some airlines only offering flight credits to passengers for cancelled flights,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a social media post on Saturday. “Let me be clear — you are entitled to get your money back promptly if your flight is cancelled and you don’t take a rebooking.”

— CNBC’s Rebecca Picciotto contributed to this report.