For the third consecutive day, over 1,000 US flights have been canceled as airlines work to recover from a global tech outage that stranded thousands of passengers at airports. By 11 a.m. Sunday, more than 1,500 flights within, into, or out of the US were canceled, with Delta Air Lines accounting for nearly half of the cancellations.
Delta Air Lines stated that additional cancellations are expected as their technology continues to recover from the vendor-caused issue that occurred on Friday. On Saturday, a total of 2,136 US flights were canceled, and over 21,300 flights were delayed, according to FlightAware.
The tech outage, caused by a flawed software update for Microsoft Windows operating systems issued by cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, had widespread impacts beyond airports. Businesses, government agencies, health and emergency services, banks, schools, and universities worldwide experienced disruptions.
Former general counsel of the US National Security Agency, Glenn Gerstell, described the incident as potentially the most significant computer incident in terms of overall effect due to its impact on people's lives.
CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz issued an apology to customers and confirmed that a fix has been deployed. However, experts anticipate a lengthy process to restore systems to normal functioning.
While major airlines have reported progress in restoring services, they caution that further delays and disruptions may occur. United Airlines mentioned that most of its systems have recovered from the outage but warned of potential ongoing disruptions, including flight delays and cancellations.
Delta Air Lines has temporarily suspended unaccompanied minor travel until Monday due to the outage. Unaccompanied children already booked on Delta flights will be unable to travel, and the airline is advising against booking new flights for them.
