Why was my Saturday flight canceled? Delta and United are still recovering

A global IT outage on Friday is still having a major impact on air travel, with flights being cancelled and delayed on a large scale.
Cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike blamed the global technical outage on a defect in an update for Microsoft Windows hosts.
Airlines are doing everything they can to provide additional flexibility to those affected by the disruption.

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Bailey Bardrick’s journey doesn’t go as planned. Maybe it doesn’t go at all.

As airlines continue to grapple with the fallout from Friday’s global IT outage, thousands of flights have been cancelled or delayed.

Bardrick had a feeder flight from Northwest Arkansas to Atlanta cancelled, meaning she missed her connecting flights to Honolulu and Tokyo.

“I couldn’t even get past security. The app said it was canceled,” she told USA TODAY, adding that she’s still not sure when she’ll be able to leave.

“I’ve invested a few thousand in this trip. I’ve been planning it for a while and it’s frustrating not having an answer as to when the next flight is,” she said.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration, several U.S. airlines, including American Airlines, United Airlines and Delta Air Lines, halted all flights early Friday due to communications problems, which had a domino effect on Saturday.

There were more than 1,600 canceled flights and more than 4,900 delays as of 3 p.m. ET Saturday, according to flight-tracking website FlightAware. Delta and United Airlines have been hit the hardest, with 821 and 379 cancellations so far, respectively. Endeavor Air, a wholly owned regional subsidiary of Delta, has also seen significant cancellations.

Airlines rely on complex systems: Why the CrowdStrike outage could cause days of chaos

Cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike blamed the global technical outage on a defect in an update for Microsoft Windows hosts.

“There was no security or cyber incident today. Our customers remain fully protected,” Crowdstrike CEO George Kurtz posted on X on Friday. “We understand the severity of the situation and deeply regret the inconvenience and disruption. We are working with all impacted customers to get systems up and running again and to deliver the services their customers rely on. As previously noted, the issue has been identified and a fix has been implemented. There was an issue with a Falcon content update for Windows Hosts.”

The aviation industry was hit particularly hard because of its sensitivity to timing. Airlines rely on a tightly coordinated schedule, often enforced by air traffic control. Just a few minutes’ delay can throw an airport and airline’s takeoff and landing schedule into disarray for the rest of the day.

“The issue impacted many individual systems, including those used to calculate aircraft weight, check in customers and telephone systems in our call centers,” United Airlines said in a statement Friday. “After halting all departures overnight, flights resumed Friday morning and we are working hard to get our customers to their destinations.”

The story continues below.

CrowdStrike update brings Microsoft systems down

Cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike has released an update that crashed Windows systems worldwide.

Are there still flights on the ground? How long are the delays?

The FAA will impose ground stops and other flight management precautions as needed, but most of Saturday’s cancellations and delays are likely caused by airline crews and equipment not being in place.

“The aviation industry is very thinly populated with aircraft. Once they’re not in place, they can’t execute their normal playbook because their aircraft aren’t in place to fly their route,” Jon Haass, a professor of cyber intelligence and security at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Prescott, told USA TODAY. “It’s no longer just one piece of software, it’s a whole system.”

Travelers are advised to contact their airline and monitor the FAA website for the most up-to-date information.

How to find the reason for a delayed flight

Customers can ask airlines why their flights were canceled or delayed, but the Department of Transportation confirmed that it considers the delays and cancellations caused by Friday’s IT outage to be “controllable” by the airlines. While airlines can say they didn’t cause the computer glitch, it means the DOT will hold them accountable for honoring the commitments they made to customers when it comes to policies like rebooking or hotel and meal vouchers while the mess is sorted out. Each airline’s policy is outlined on the DOT’s customer service dashboard.

The Bureau of Transportation Statistics also tracks the causes of delays and cancellations.

Airline Exemptions

Airlines are doing everything they can to provide additional flexibility to those affected by the disruption.

Delta said in a statement that it “continued the operational restart on Saturday” and issued a waiver allowing all passengers scheduled to travel on Friday to rebook their flights.
United United Airlines has granted a waiver to some airports, allowing passengers to make changes if their flight is affected. However, a United spokesperson told USA TODAY that nearly all of the airline’s flights either depart from or arrive at one of the airports covered by the waiver.
Spirit has issued an exemption allowing customers who have booked a flight on Friday or Saturday via an airport in the network to change their flight at no extra cost.

What happens if my flight is cancelled?

According to U.S. Department of Transportation regulations, all airlines must offer customers a refund if their flight is canceled for any reason. However, customers may be entitled to additional compensation if the cancellation was within the airline’s control.

What should I do if my flight is delayed?

If your flight has a long delay, the Transportation Department advises asking airline staff to pay for meals or a hotel room.

The DOT dashboard reflects official airline policies, but many airlines handle compensation for delays on a case-by-case basis and in some situations may provide vouchers or other benefits that are not formally covered.

What is considered a significant flight delay?

Each airline defines significant delays differently, but the DOT dashboard shows which airlines offer compensation for manageable delays of 3 hours or more.

For example, all major U.S. airlines would have to provide a meal voucher for flights delayed for at least 3 hours for reasons within their control. In addition, Alaska, JetBlue and Southwest will offer credit or a travel voucher when a controllable delay “causes passengers to wait 3 hours or more from the scheduled departure time,” the dashboard said.

How to claim compensation for a delayed flight

Travelers seeking financial compensation for delayed flights should file a claim with their airline. Passengers seeking other types of compensation, such as frequent flyer miles, may be able to request them through the airline’s customer service department.