Delta Air Lines slow to recover from worldwide outage, drawing federal ire

Delta Air Lines is still experiencing delays and cancellations as a result of Friday's worldwide technical outage, prompting the ire of federal officials and an apology from the airline's president. 

Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian released a statement Sunday apologizing and thanking customers for their patience.

"The technology issue occurred on the busiest travel weekend of the summer, with our booked loads exceeding 90%, limiting our re-accommodation capabilities," Bastian said. "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."

Flights worldwide were disrupted on airlines including Delta, United and American, after the cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike deployed a software update that disrupted Microsoft computer systems, affecting about 8.5 million machines.

More than half of Delta's IT systems are Windows-based, which required Delta technicians to manually repair and reboot each system.

CrowdStrike officials said Monday that "a significant amount" of the millions of computers that crashed Friday were back online. 

Delta is offering travel waivers to customers affected by delays and cancellations, allowing passengers to make changes to itineraries at no cost, as well as meal vouchers, hotel accommodation and transportation when possible.

Delta extended the travel waiver for all trips booked from Friday through July 28, allowing a one-time change to itineraries. The airline waived any fare differences for customers for the same flight service. 

Customers may also request a refund if they choose not to accept a credit or a free rebooking on another flight or another airline. Delta is also offering to reimburse some expenses, including hotels, meals and ground transportation. Delta does not reimburse prepaid expenses. 

At Kennedy Airport on Monday, Delta canceled 53 flights and delayed 76 other flights. At LaGuardia, there were about 42 flights canceled and 58 delayed by Delta. The airline canceled 15 flights out of Newark.

Delta does not fly out of Long Island MacArthur and flight operations there were unaffected, according to FlightAware.

Delta said the pause in operations resulted in more than 3,500 Delta flights canceled worldwide through Saturday, officials said. The cancellations continued Sunday as Delta restored operations.

Other carriers were returning Monday to nearly normal levels, intensifying the glare on Delta’s relatively weaker response.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg spoke to Bastian on Sunday about the airline’s high number of cancellations since Friday. Buttigieg said his agency had received "hundreds of complaints" about Delta, and he expects the airline to provide hotels and meals for travelers who are delayed and to issue quick refunds to customers who don’t want to be rebooked on a later flight.

"No one should be stranded at an airport overnight or stuck on hold for hours waiting to talk to a customer service agent," Buttigieg said.

In sudden events like Friday's outage, options for customers are limited and usually at the discretion of airlines, said Jillian Young, director of public relations for AAA Northeast. 

"Unfortunately, this is one of those situations where travelers are at the mercy of their particular airlines," Young said. "This is one of those issues beyond the airline's control. Individual airlines are responsible for taking care of their customers."

With AP

By John Asbury

john.asbury@newsday.comJohnAsbury

John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.