Airlines and Passengers Still Struggling, a Day After Global Outage

A day after a tech outage disrupted industries worldwide, airlines are digging themselves out from the fallout of thousands of delayed and canceled flights that have left travelers stranded and searching to find a way home over the weekend.

On Saturday morning, delays and cancellations had ebbed, and both domestic and international airlines said they expected to return to near normal operations. But higher than usual cancellation rates are still likely throughout the day, as airlines continue to maneuver planes and their flight crews back into position.

Yesterday’s software outages immobilized airlines, affecting numerous functions, including calculating aircraft weight, checking in and communicating with travelers. The waits stacked up for passengers, and some were left with no option other than to sleep at airports.

Grace Aldrin, 23, said she slept on the floor by baggage claim at La Guardia Airport in New York on Friday night after her United flight to Chicago was delayed overnight. She opened her suitcase and slept on top of her clothes, surrounded by others doing the same.

“They didn’t offer any hotel vouchers — they just told us that we could upload our hotel receipts to United Cares and maybe get a refund,” she said. “I called every hotel I could, and they were all booked.”

At 4 a.m., security officers woke her up, and she trudged back into the terminal, where she eventually got on a standby flight.