Delta Airlines, one of the main airlines in the USA, has not yet been able to normalize its operations since a cyber blackout affected, on July 19, 2024, computers that use Microsoft’s system. Over 5,500 flights have been canceled by the company since then. The source of the data is the Associated Press (AP).
The blackout was caused by a flaw in a tool from cybersecurity company CrowdStrike. It is present on the Microsoft computing platform. On Friday, July 10, the bug was fixed, but the impact on the affected computers remained.
Microsoft reported on Saturday (July 20) that around 8.5 million devices using the Windows operating system—less than 1% of the total—were affected. The blackout disrupted aviation, banking, and communications services around the world. Airports were the most affected.
Also Read: Worst cyber event in history: Microsoft called the number of computers affected due to IT failure
Delta Chief Executive Ed Bastian said it would be “a few more days” until “the worst is over.” According to him, the airline is trying to fix an important flight scheduling program. The company canceled, on Monday (July 22), at least 700 flights.
Bastian said the failure occurred at a busy time, with the number of seats sold exceeding 90%. This limited the airline’s re-accommodation capacity.
United Airlines had the second-worst performance among North American companies. There have been almost 1,500 flights canceled since Friday (July 19). However, the company recovered and, on Monday (July 22), canceled only 17 flights. Other airlines were also able to normalize their operations over the weekend. Among them are American Airlines, Spirit Airlines, Frontier Airlines, and Allegiant Air.
Also Read: What is CrowdStrike and why has it caused a worldwide IT failure?
