Air Travel Still Snarled After Global Tech Outage

Nearly 400 inbound or outbound flights from Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport were canceled, an improvement from the 724 flights canceled Saturday and 824 flights canceled Friday, but still the highest of any U.S. airport, according to FlightAware.com

United Airlines,

Delta Air Lines
,

and American Airlines all temporarily ordered planes grounded on Friday, according to the Federal Aviation Administration’s status page.

Hartsfield-Jackson told Barron’s in an email that the airport was working with its airline partners as its systems returned to normal. “Although airport-operated systems were not impacted, we are providing support to passengers and employees throughout the facility,” including implementing its “concessions crisis plan” to keep concessions available while flights are operating. 

“We’ve provided assistance and guidance to passengers spending the night in the airport, and we’re collaborating with our airlines to create space for luggage reunification areas. We suggest passengers follow their airline social media and messaging apps for updates, they monitor ATL.com for parking, security, and concessions options, and they seek out green-coated ATL guest services representatives for airport-related information.”

Delta Air Lines, which has canceled more than 680 flights and delayed more than 1,400 flights on Sunday, according to FlightAware, said it is communicating directly with passengers, acknowledging the disruption, offering an apology and SkyMiles program miles or a travel voucher.

Delta said teams in airports, on board flights, on phones, or on messaging channels are “working tirelessly to care for customers as the airline worked to put flight crews and aircraft back in position” following Friday’s disruption.

Atlanta-based Delta is waiving fare differences for passengers booked for travel from Friday through Sunday on rebooked travel on or before July 26, adding that passengers may experience “slowness” on its Delta.com website or Fly Delta app because of a high volume of customer requests.

The airline is also covering eligible expenses including meal vouchers, hotel accommodations where available, and ground transportation. 

Delta is pausing unaccompanied minor travel through July 23, and said that those already booked will not be able to travel. “Please do not book new travel for unaccompanied minors,” Delta said.

United Airlines, which has canceled 250 flights and delayed 250 flights on Sunday, said that most of its technology systems have been restored and its reliability is improving, but that it still expects some delays and cancellations. It is issuing waivers for customers who need to change their travel plans via United.com or the United app.

On Saturday, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said on X that “I am hearing reports of some airlines only offering flight credits to passengers for canceled flights. Let me be clear—you are entitled to get your money back promptly if your flight is cancelled and you don’t take a rebooking.

“If your airline is automatically giving you credits but you prefer cash, you can tell them you want a refund—and let us know if they fail to provide one,” the message said.

He also pointed passengers to FlightRights.gov, the government’s dashboard showing which airlines cover meals and hotels and provide free rebooking for major airline-caused delays or cancellations.

Write to Janet H. Cho at janet.cho@dowjones.com