Delta and its flyers were still in the midst of a prolonged meltdown Monday long after other airlines had recovered from a major global software outage late last week, canceling hundreds of flights scheduled for Monday. And airline executives apparently don't expect to be back to normal until this weekend at the earliest.
By midday Monday, Delta had already canceled more than 800 flights for the day while delaying another 1,300 as of 12:30 p.m. CT, according to FlightAware.com data – a tally that's sure to grow as the day drags on. Other carriers have resumed their normal schedules, and yet it's the fourth consecutive day Delta has canceled hundreds of flights, leaving millions of customers stranded at airports, struggling to rebook trips, or scrambling to find another way home.
While it began with a worldwide cybersecurity software outage that halted many major airlines and other industries on Friday, it's now clearly a Delta problem. Four days later, the airline's staff and systems have simply been unable to catch up.
Since Friday, Delta and wholly owned regional subsidiary Endeavor Air have canceled nearly 5,400 flights and counting – close to double the cancellations on all the other U.S. airlines combined … and more than twice as many flights as Delta canceled in the entirety of 2019.
Delta is still allowing flyers with reservations through Tuesday to rebook their flights without fees or higher fare differences, pushing back travel as late as this Sunday. Customers whose flights are canceled or significantly delayed can scrap their trip for a full refund – not just an airline voucher – and also request reimbursement for additional expenses like hotels and meals.
Read more: What to Do When an Airline Cancels Your Flight
“I want to apologize to every one of you who have been impacted by these events,” CEO Ed Bastian wrote in a statement Sunday. “Please know that Delta’s entire team of the best professionals in the business have been working around the clock to safely get you where you need to go, and restore the reliable, on-time experience you've come to expect when you fly with us.”
In that and subsequent statements, the airline confirmed that Friday's brief outage hampered one of Delta's critical crew scheduling platforms, rendering it “unable to effectively process the unprecedented number of changes.” So even as other airlines recovered, Delta has been unable to assign enough pilots and flight attendants.
That's led to rolling delays, long waits at the gate for enough staff to take off, and crews timing out before departure on Delta flights. Meanwhile, United and American Airlines had canceled just a few dozen flights as of midday Monday.
Delta has provided no public indication of when customers can expect flights to resume operating reliably. Airline representatives have not responded to requests for comment.
But in an internal video shared with Delta employees, Bastian and other top executives said they hope to “get to a better place by the end of the week.” Aviation watchdog @xJonNYC first shared a transcript of that video on social media.
It's one of the worst operational collapses in years, with echoes of Southwest's historic meltdown over Christmas 2022. That saga was far worse by the numbers – at least so far – with more than 16,000 cancellations over a 10-day span during the busy winter holidays.
But in some ways, this is worse for Delta's reputation. It flies in the face of Delta's brand as America's “premium” airline – and expecting customers to pay a premium for that reliability.
Pre-pandemic, Delta would go months at a time without a single cancellation, leading the airline to dub itself “the on-time machine.” While Delta has occasionally stumbled along with the rest of the industry as post-pandemic travel demand surged, the airline has still topped the charts for on-time arrivals, according to federal data.
As delays and cancellations snowballed over the weekend, federal regulators cranked up pressure on Delta to do right by disrupted customers.
“I have made clear to Delta that we will hold them to all applicable passenger protections,” Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg wrote on social media Sunday evening, saying his agency had received hundreds of complaints about the airline. “Delta must provide prompt refunds to consumers who choose not to take rebooking, free rebooking for those who do, and timely reimbursements for food and hotel stays to consumers affected by these delays and cancellations, as well as adequate customer service assistance.”
Delta has said it's offering bonus SkyMiles or vouchers as an apology and has promised to cover food and lodging for disrupted customers.
But while the airline also said customers could request reimbursement for “hotel, meal or ground transportation expenses while in transit,” Delta made clear it will not cover lost hotel nights or other expenses at a traveler's final destination.
What to Do If You're Flying Delta This Week
It's the $1 million question: When will this get better? Is my Delta flight this week safe or should I be worried?
Unfortunately, there's no way to know for sure. But based on the magnitude of this meltdown and how Delta and other airlines have handled previous mishaps, these mass disruptions could continue for several days – maybe even extend through the rest of this week.
Maybe we're wrong. But in the unpredictable world of airlines, it's best to hope for the best … and prepare for the worst. Here's what to consider.
Change Your Delta Flight for Free
Delta is offering a free change waiver that could allow you to reschedule an upcoming flight for as far out as next Sunday without paying fees or fare differences. If you've got some flexibility with your travel plans, you'd be wise to take advantage.
This could allow you to shift your Delta flights as far back as Sunday – when, hopefully, Delta is performing better – without paying a ton to do so.
As of publication, Delta's current travel waiver only applies to flights scheduled through Tuesday. But we've seen Delta push that eligibility window day by day – it's probably only a matter of time before Wednesday flights qualify for free change.
If you make the cut, you should be able to rebook your flights online or using the Fly Delta app.
Book a Backup with Another Airline
If you need to get somewhere this week and you're booked with Delta, it's time to start looking into alternatives.
While other airlines struggled over the weekend (especially United Airlines), they're all faring far better than Delta. Southwest and Alaska Airlines, in particular, were virtually unaffected by last week's outage and continue flying without interruption.
Fire up Google Flights and see what other airlines can get you to your final destination this week. Filter for nonstops if you want to get there as fast as possible.
You can even exclude Delta fares from your results.
Will it cost you an arm and a leg to book a ticket just a few days or even hours before departure? Maybe. Is that worth the peace of mind that you can get where you need to go on time when Delta clearly cannot? Almost certainly.
Thrifty Tip: Got some airline miles or credit card points stashed away? There's no better time to use them than when fares are high!
Know Your Rights: Get a Refund
It's one of the few ironclad rights we've got as travelers: If Delta cancels or significantly delays your flight by three or more hours, you're entitled to a full refund. Not just a voucher or Delta eCredit, but your money back.
That could help offset the cost of a last-minute flight with another carrier and get you on your way for (slightly) less.
If Delta hasn't canceled or changed your flight yet, wait and watch. These kinds of schedule changes tend to happen day of – and, in many cases, right around your scheduled departure time … or even after.
Once that notification comes through, head to Delta.com/refund and submit your request.
Save Your Receipts & Request Reimbursement
Travelers booked with Delta are staring down some difficult decisions: Do you pay for another few nights in a hotel (and many more meals) before Delta can get you home? Do you book a flight on another airline? Or rent a car and start the long drive home instead?
Whatever you do, make Delta pay for all those extra expenses. Or at least try to, anyway.
Delta is spelling out exactly what it will cover for disrupted passengers – either by proactively offering vouchers for hotels and meals or covering those expenses after the fact via reimbursement. And the airline is spelling out what it won't cover, too: Namely, “prepaid expenses, including but not limited to hotel reservations at the customer’s destination, vacation experiences, lost wages, concerts or other tickets.”
As pressure from federal regulators on Delta ramps up, maybe the airline will be even more generous than what's listed here. At any rate, keep track of all your additional expenses and receipts and ask Delta to cover everything. Worst case scenario, they say no.
As of publication, it's unclear how affected customers can actually submit any requests for reimbursement. So stay tuned on that.
Check Your Travel Insurance (Or Credit Card Coverage)
Where Delta falls short, travel insurance can be a lifesaver. And that includes some top travel credit cards that offer excellent built-in coverage.
Every policy is different, both in terms of how much in additional expenses they'll cover as well as whether they'll cover those extra costs at all, like an extra hotel night, if Delta is supposed to be on the hook. You need to go back and read the fine print to figure out exactly how your travel insurance can help you.
Items like additional hotel nights if you're stranded by the airline, costs to replace clothes and toiletries due to lost luggage, and extra meals are typically a given with travel insurance. While it's too late to buy travel insurance to cope with the disruptions you're dealing with today, you may be covered if you booked your trip with the right travel credit card.
Some of best credit cards have built-in travel insurance. Just book your flight with one of these cards (or redeem points from them) and you're set. One important detail: American Express cards often require a roundtrip booking.
Few are better than the *chase sapphire preferred* or the *chase sapphire reserve*, as they have some unbeatable travel insurance coverage on any ticket purchased with the card. On the Preferred Card, for example, you get:
- Up to $500 in reimbursements for expenses like airfare, hotels, meals etc. in the event of a delay of 12 or more hours.
- Up to $100 a day for five days if your checked baggage is delayed more than six hours.
- Unbeatable coverage for rental cars
- And more…
Again, you'll need to read the fine print on your policy to ensure these provisions will actually kick in – and they may not if Delta is on the hook to cover hotels, meals, and other expenses.
Be Patient & Kind
This is hard, we know. But when things go wrong in air travel, we have a mantra:
“It's not the check-in agent's fault. It's not your gate agent's fault. It's not your flight attendant's fault. And it's not the customer support agent on the phone's fault, either.”
As frustrating as delays and cancellations can be, don't take it out on front-line employees. In many cases, they're under just as much stress as you are trying to help hundreds of fellow travelers – not to mention, working long hours trying to keep the airline moving.
Kindness is a superpower in these situations. These employees often have enormous power to help you out … and they're far more likely to do so when you're genuinely nice.