Hundreds of US flights canceled, delayed as travel disruption continues

More than 700 flights have been canceled and over 500 more have been delayed across the United States as airlines continue to feel the impact of Friday’s major global IT outage, which has left thousands of passengers stranded at airports nationwide.

According to FlightAware, the worst affected airports on Sunday are Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Newark Liberty International Airport, Chicago O’Hare International Airport, LaGuardia Airport, and Minneapolis/St Paul International Airport.

The issue, which began early Friday morning, is linked to a software update from the cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike. The update caused several Windows “blue screen of death” errors for computers used by major institutions. The outage has grounded flights, downed some emergency service call centers, as well as banks, hospitals, and television networks.

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Several major U.S. airlines, including American Airlines, Delta and United, grounded flights due to the communication issue, according to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Long lines formed at airports across the country as airlines lost access to check-in and booking services at a time when many travelers are heading away on summer vacations. At some airports, gate agents were writing tickets longhand.

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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Saturday that customers whose flights have been canceled are entitled to a refund.

“I am hearing reports of some airlines only offering flight credits to passengers for canceled flights,” he wrote. “Let me be clear—you are entitled to get your money back promptly if your flight is canceled and you don’t take a rebooking.”

The delays and cancellations have continued into Sunday, two days after the outage.

Hartsfield-Jackson, the busiest airport in the country and a major Delta hub, has reported 46 cancellations and 19 delays.

The New York City area also continues to be affected, with Newark Liberty International Airport reporting 34 cancellations and five delays, and LaGuardia airport in Queens has had 27 cancellations and three delays.

At O’Hare, another major hub for domestic and international flights, there have been 29 cancellations and five delays

In an emailed statement to Newsweek, CrowdStrike said that the problem was caused by a recent update, which it has since addressed.

“CrowdStrike is actively working with customers impacted by a defect found in a single content update for Windows hosts. Mac and Linux hosts are not impacted. This is not a security incident or cyberattack. The issue has been identified, isolated and a fix has been deployed,” the statement said.

“Our team is fully mobilized to ensure the security and stability of CrowdStrike customers.”