WHY TRAVELERS SHOULD START PREPARING FOR THE NEXT AIRLINE SCHEDULING MELTDOWN

They are scenes straight out of a travel nightmare: Airline passengers, including unaccompanied minors, stranded for days in strange cities amid a cascading wave of flight cancellations—with little hope of catching a plane home in a hurry.

That was the reality for thousands of fliers this week as Delta struggled to recover from the widespread CrowdStrike technology outage that overturned its flight schedules. But Delta passengers aren’t alone in dealing with these frustrating scenarios. In December 2022, Southwest had a similar meltdown as storms caused chaos for its holiday operations. “These can happen for a variety of reasons,” says Brett Snyder, president of travel assistance firm Cranky Concierge. “Usually there is some trigger, poor weather in the case of Southwest in 2022 and the CrowdStrike faulty update for Delta. Then, when things get out of sorts too quickly, systems can fall behind and it makes it hard to recover.”

In Delta’s case, the tech failure affected the airline’s Microsoft Windows operating system, according to a statement to customers from Delta CEO Ed Bastian. “Delta has a significant number of applications that use that system, and in particular one of our crew tracking-related tools was affected and unable to effectively process the unprecedented number of changes triggered by the system shutdown,” read Bastian's statement.

That crew management software is a key piece of technology, according to Mike Arnot, an airline expert and founder of the aviation communications firm Juliett Alpha. “It has so many dimensions to factor, including the passage of time, individual flight crew members with rules governing their work hours, routes, aircraft, and location of all of these people and planes at that moment in time,” Arnot says. “However, sometimes it’s so bad, with planes and people so out of position, a huge number of flights need to be canceled to reset. They just have to take drastic action to reset the entire operation and get planes and people in position to start again.”

And though the CrowdStrike failure seems like an extenuating circumstance, passengers should nonetheless be preparing for the next airline schedule outage. “The bad news is that these meltdowns happen all of the time, and somewhat predictably, every year,” Arnot says. “You might not remember the last major thunderstorm and heavy rain to hit LaGuardia or Denver, but the airline operations centers sure do. And every June or September, Florida has mini-meltdowns during hurricane season, where hundreds of flights are delayed and canceled. It’s just doesn’t make major news. But travelers sure feel it.”

Here’s what travelers should know if they’re ever caught in a airline schedule meltdown—big or small.

How to get help from customer service fast

It’s no surprise that in an airline schedule meltdown, representatives quickly become overwhelmed. “When you need help during a major airline event, the biggest challenge is reaching someone,” says Gary Leff, a travel advisor and author of aviation blog View From the Wing. “Phone lines are overloaded. Often the website and mobile app will crash as too many customers seek help.”

To get assistance quickly, try multiple avenues all at once even as you stand in line at the airport help desk. “It can be a good idea to be on the phone and on social media via direct message while standing in line, and that if you don’t get what you want the first time you ask to then ask someone else,” Leff says.

That advice also applies to if you are automatically rebooked on an itinerary that’s less than ideal. “The technology typically factors in status, fare paid, whether you are on a reward redemption, among other considerations,” says Arnot. “You can accept what is given to you automatically, but there's no reason why you can't get in line virtually or at the airport itself and find better routings, timings, and options.”

What passengers are owed—and what they should ask for anyway

According to new Department of Transportation rules enacted in April 2024, passengers are entitled to a full and automatic refund if their flight is canceled or significantly changed. Several scenarios can constitute a “significant change.” Among them are: “departure or arrival times that are [delayed] more than three hours domestically and six hours internationally; departures or arrivals from a different airport; increases in the number of connections; instances where passengers are downgraded to a lower class of service; or connections at different airports or flights on different planes that are less accessible or accommodating to a person with a disability.”

Many airlines also offer additional compensations, such as hotel stays for overnight delays, meal vouchers, and travel credits. You can check the DOT’s Airline Cancellation and Delay Dashboard to see what types of compensation each US airline offers for disrupted flights. Keep in mind that when an airline is having a protracted and very public meltdown, they are likely to offer additional compensation to fliers than what the DOT table shows.

For instance, according to an operational update from Delta, the airline is reimbursing additional travel costs customers have encountered as they try to make it to their destinations. These costs include hotel, meal, and ground transportation expenses incurred while in transit, as well as purchasing tickets on other airlines, rental cars, train tickets, and more. Passengers can submit their expenses for reimbursement on the carrier’s website.

Indeed, when operations are totally bungled, sometimes the easiest thing to do is to fly out with a completely different airline. Even if this isn’t part of the airline’s normal policy, you should still ask representatives about it. “Be sure to bring your own information to the table,” Leff says. “Don’t rely on being offered solutions. Search for flights that are available for purchase and suggest them.”

Although customer service agents might not bite, flying out on your own dime and asking for compensation later is still a viable option. “Ultimately, the best way out is to see if you can just buy a ticket on another airline, if you have the means to do it,” Snyder says. “With any luck, they'll reimburse you after the fact. You can also just take advantage of waivers and stay a couple extra days until the mess is over.”