BOSTON (WHDH) – Passengers at Logan Airport were still dealing with disruptions Tuesday, four days after last week’s global tech outage snarled industries from air travel to public health.
Though most airlines recovered from the issue within a matter of hours, Delta was still struggling entering the new week, leaving customers unhappy.
“I’m very frustrated,” said Delta customer Jacquie Sullivan.
Issues cropped up early Friday morning and quickly rippled around the world, grinding workplaces to a halt, forcing hospitals to delay surgeries and cancel appointments, and knocking Massachusetts’ vehicle inspection system offline, among other impacts.
Experts said a faulty software update from cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike was to blame. Though CrowdStrike distributed a solution, IT professionals were left to implement the fix and get impacted computers back online.
The initial hours of the outage saw thousands of passengers stranded at airports around the world. By Tuesday, conditions were improving for travelers using most carriers.
But Delta’s flight cancellations were mounting, with 5,500 canceled flights between Friday morning and Monday afternoon, according to the Associated Press.
Issues continued Tuesday. At Logan Airport, of 35 total flight cancellations as of around 12 p.m. Tuesday, 27 were Delta flights.
While lost luggage and long lines piled up, some travelers said they got lucky.
Others did not fare so well.
“Delta’s always been good,” said Matt DiPilato. “So, we’re lucky, I guess, I hope.”
DiPilato said his flight was still on time when he spoke to 7NEWS.
One other person said he arrived at the airport with a fellow traveler only to find their flight had been canceled.
“She checked last night and it was good,” he said.
Susan McCutchan said she spent two nights stranded in Seattle in recent days. She said she spent one night stuck in the airport, itself, because there were no available rental cars or rooms.
“I was on the phone for 3.5 hours trying to get in touch with Delta,” McCutchan said. “They didn’t answer.”
Delta CEO Ed Bastian in a statement said canceling a flight is always a last resort.
“I want to apologize to every one of you who have been impacted by these events,” he said. “Delta’s entire team…have been working around the clock to safely get you where you need to go.”
Still stuck in a travel nightmare, Sullivan said she was without options.
“I’m going to Dulles, Atlanta, to Charleston for eight hours of flights and there’s no way to rebook here,” she said.
Sullivan said she spent hours on the phone trying unsuccessfully to rebook her itinerary. When she came to Logan to try to rebook, she said she was told “the line is too long. Go get your flight.”
“I have nine other flights on Delta this summer and I’m trying to figure out how to get out of Delta,” Sullivan said.
Delta in a statement on its website Monday afternoon said a crew-scheduling system was still impacted by Friday’s outage.
Though crews were “fully staffed and ready to serve” customers, Delta said the scheduling system was “requiring the most time and manual support to synchronize.”
Delta has offered a travel waiver to all customers with travel booked between July 19 and July 23. Under the travel waiver, customers can make a one-time change to their itinerary and have any fare difference waived if their rebooked trip takes place on or before July 28.
Travelers can also cancel their trip and receive a refund.
Having already issued several statements about travelers’ rights while navigating recent disruptions after the technology outage, the US Department of Transportation on Tuesday opened an investigation into Delta.
“This is not just the right thing to do, it’s the law, and our department will leverage the full extent of our investigative and enforcement power to ensure the rights of Delta’s passengers are upheld,” said Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
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