ROMULUS, Mich. (WXYZ) — Days after a global IT outage impacted schools, city services, emergency systems, airlines and more, Delta Air Lines is still struggling to get back online.
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The outage was initially caused after cybersecurity company Crowdstrike sent a faulty update to Microsoft users on Friday.
Delta has seen some of the biggest challenges as upwards of 50% of their IT systems worldwide are Windows-based. The airline says the update impacted their system which ensures flight crews are booked for every flight.
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The outage is now resulting in Americans being stranded in different states and countries struggling to get home.
"It’s been a lot it really has," said Danielle Scholten from Temperance in Monroe County. "Everybody’s said just enjoy your extra days of vacation. Look at you getting extra days in Mexico but really it’s been difficult. We’ve got pets at home to get to, a house that we had to beg people to keep house-sitting. People on our plane have little kids."
Scholten and her newlywed husband flew from Detroit to Cancun for their honeymoon following their July 13th nuptials. The couple was supposed to fly back home to DTW on Saturday but their flight was canceled.
Scholten says the airline put them in a hotel for the time being but throughout this process, they have gotten very little communication from Delta.
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"I understand that there’s flights all over that are down and people are stranded, but there was 100 of us on that flight expecting to go to Detroit," she added. "There were nurses trying to get home the next day. There were parents and still some of the people we flew here with originally from Detroit, they’re still trapped here."
Scholten says after a few canceled flights, they were rebooked on a flight for Tuesday night. They're hopeful it will pan out.
"It’s super frustrating. Thankfully we don’t have kids at home but we do have four dogs," said Karmen Moen, who was stranded in Dallas Tuesday. "We have puppies at home that my dog had so I had somebody watching our dogs for us but then they left for vacation. So now I have to scramble around looking for more people."
Moen, who is from Pinckney, says she went to Dallas with her family to attend a wedding. On their way back to DTW, their flight was canceled after staff learned there was no crew booked. Their flight was canceled twice. After finally getting booked on a flight for Tuesday afternoon, it was delayed.
'They haven’t given us any vouchers or anything. We did go to the airport yesterday because we’re thankfully in a position where we can get a hotel. I know some aren’t," said Moen. " They basically said save your receipts. It’s a little scary because we’re not sure if we’re going to get a full refund or $50 towards a hotel or what we’re going to get. So it’s a little scary. Also eating out every night is not really sustainable."
Customers say they just want answers so they can return home.
"Take care of us. That’s why I’ve always flown Delta. They’ve always taken care of me and to be at the airport and they say we got nothing for you is just crazy," said Dean Moen from Pinckney.
ADDITIONAL REPORT: What should you do next if your flight is canceled?
After 7 News Detroit reached out for information on what's behind the continued cancelations and delays, the airline sent back the following information:
Baggage:
- As Delta continues our operational recovery, we’re working reunite bags with customers.
- We have set up an internal Baggage Command Center in Atlanta, where we are seeing the highest number of displaced baggage, in an effort to expedite the process of reuniting customers with their belongings.
- Customers have three options for support with displaced luggage:
- Visit their local Baggage Service Office and file a claim.
- Visit Delta.com, search Online Baggage Claim Form and submit a claim
- Call 1-800-325-8224 to make a baggage claim.
- We are also leveraging all of our delivery partners to assist in making final mile delivery of bags needing to be returned to customers at their homes or their final travel destinations.
- Delta continues to leverage as many solutions as possible to ensure customers’ bags are returned to them as soon as possible.
Operation:
- As industry tracking sites like FlightAware [flightaware.com] show, Delta’s cancellations today are lower than previous days. As of 3:30pm, Delta (including Delta Connection flights operated by regional carriers) has ~500 cancels out of 5,059 flights scheduled for Tuesday.
- More: Delta people working 24/7 to restore operation, support customers, get crews to right place at right time | Delta News Hub [news.delta.com]
Action Delta is taking for customers:
- Delta extended a travel waiver [delta.com] for all customers with travel booked from July 19-28. The waiver offers customers the ability to make a one-time change to their itinerary. The fare difference for customers will be waived when rebooked travel occurs on or before Aug. 4, in the same cabin of service as originally booked. Customers are encouraged to manage changes to their travel via delta.com or the Fly Delta app.
- Right to a Refund Upon Request - Customers whose travel has been disrupted due to a canceled or significantly delayed flight may choose to cancel their travel and receive an eCredit for the unflown portion of the trip, or may instead request a refund for the unflown portion of the trip at delta.com/refund.
- Issuing SkyMiles Program miles or a travel voucher in an amount based on the customer’s affected travels.
- Covering eligible expenses resulting from this flight disruption, including providing meal vouchers, hotel accommodations where available and ground transportation.
- Reimbursement of eligible expenses. Customers who have incurred hotel, meal or ground transportation expenses while in transit during this operational disruption may submit eligible expenses for reimbursement via Delta.com.
- Reaching out to customers about cancellations and rebooking options. Delta is notifying customers about delays and cancellations in their itinerary via the Fly Delta app, email and text message, and offering rebooking options that can be managed online.
- More: Delta people working 24/7 to restore operation, support customers, get crews to right place at right time | Delta News Hub [news.delta.com]
A Delta representative also sent the statement below:
“Delta is in receipt of the Department’s notice of investigation and is fully cooperating. We remain entirely focused on restoring our operation after cybersecurity vendor CrowdStrike’s faulty Windows update rendered IT systems across the globe inoperable. Across our operation, Delta teams are working tirelessly to care for and make it right for customers impacted by delays and cancellations as we work to restore the reliable, on-time service they have come to expect from Delta.”
-Delta Air Lines
Delta says they are updating customers on their website and in the fly Delta app about delays and cancellations. There is also information about rebooking and vouchers there. There is no word yet on when they’ll get the system back fully operational.
