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Flight cancellations soar past 5,000 as woes spill into Saturday; Delta and United hardest hit

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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 late afternoon Saturday, airlines had canceled more than 1,600 flights in the U.S., according to data from flight-tracking site FlightAware. 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 18,000-plus delayed since the IT outage first began affecting flights.

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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.

Long lines amid Friday’s disruptions at Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport (MKE). LEO RAMIREZ/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

Delta Air Lines

At least 840 Delta flights have been canceled as of late Saturday afternoon, per FlightAware hours after the Atlanta-based carrier noted hundreds of cancellations across its mainline and regional Delta Connection network. That amounts to at least a quarter of Delta’s operation. 38% of its flights Saturday have been delayed.

“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 has also paused all unaccompanied minor flying until Sunday, affecting all children under the age of 18 planning to fly solo.

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.”

As of late afternoon Saturday, United had canceled more than 392 flights, about 13% of its operation, per FlightAware. About a quarter of United’s flights for Saturday have encountered delays.

Sunday is also looking a bit dicey for United, with FlightAware already showing 175 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.

 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. It’s followed by two other Delta hubs:  New York’s LaGuardia Airport (LGA) and Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport (MSP).

A blank Delta Air Lines monitor on Saturday, July 20 at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW). JIM CUDAHY

You can also expect disruptions at major United hubs like Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport (ORD), Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) and Denver International Airport (DEN), among others.

American Airlines, which canceled more than 400 flights Friday has largely seen its operation recover with just 28 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 117 cancellations, about 12% of its network.

Here’s more on what you can do if your flight is canceled or delayed.

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