On Friday, a flight information board showed quite a few delays and cancellations for departures from Dulles International Airport in Washington, DC. (Photo by Roberto Schmidt)
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This story was updated on July 20, 2024 at 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time.
MMore than 24 hours after a security update on computers running the Microsoft Windows operating system caused an enormous global outage, air travelers within the United States are facing a second day of disruptions.
On Friday, there have been nearly 13,000 flight delays and three,400 cancellations for American travelers, in keeping with Data from FlightAwareOverall, about 60% of all flights from US airports were disrupted on Friday.
As of Saturday, 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time, there have been 1,621 canceled flights and 4,945 delays within the United States, in keeping with Data from FlightAwareIn fact, about 28% of all flights departing from U.S. airports on Saturday can be affected by disruptions for the complete day.
Delta and United Airlines were the toughest hit, with 811 and 378 cancellations respectively on Saturday.
“The high cancellation rates at Delta and United today are likely an attempt to return their flight schedule to normal operations as quickly as possible,” says a spokesperson for Cirrhiuman aviation analytics firm, noted that Australia had canceled greater than 5% of its flights on Saturday. “That gives an indication of where things are going for the U.S. and Canada in particular.”
The five US airports with essentially the most cancellations on Saturday morning were Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta (219), Denver (55), Chicago O’Hare (52), Minneapolis/St. Paul (51) and Detroit Metro Wayne County (51).
On Saturday, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) responded to an update request with the instruction Forbes for the Agency websiteby which an announcement from Friday was also included: “The FAA is closely monitoring a technical issue affecting the IT systems of U.S. airlines. Several airlines have asked the FAA for assistance with grounding their fleets until the issue is resolved.”
The most affected airlines are granting exemptions and allowing passengers departing on Friday to rebook their flights at no additional cost.
The FlightFinder tool on FlightAware can notify travelers of a flight disruption early. Enter your flight information, then click the “Where is my plane now?” link directly under the flight number. You can see if the plane is ahead of schedule, on time, or delayed, and take motion accordingly – even before the airline proclaims a delay or cancellation.
“Although this incident is beyond the control of airlines and airports, passengers still have certain rights under U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) regulations,” says Tomasz Pawliszyn, CEO of AirHelpa web-based service that helps passengers get compensation from airlines when flights are cancelled, delayed or overbooked. “Passengers are entitled to assistance from the airline. This may include rebooking on the next available flight and, in some cases, meal vouchers and accommodation if the delay continues overnight.”
Pawliszyn’s advice: Keep your receipts.
