Travelers wait in line at a Delta Airlines counter at Ronald Reagan National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, on July 19, 2024. Airlines around the globe experienced disruption on an unprecedented scale after a widespread global computer outage grounded planes and created chaos at airports.
Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Major airlines like United, Delta and American Airlines grounded flights Friday morning amid a world IT outage impacting their operations, triggering delays for travelers.
“You possibly can imagine the mass chaos unfolding all over the place,” said Eric Napoli, chief legal officer at AirHelp, which helps fliers claim compensation for delayed or canceled flights.
“Any form of shutdown, the bottleneck [it has] on so many flights is incredible,” he added.
Passengers impacted by flight disruptions could also be entitled to a refund, hotel or meal voucher or other remuneration.
But it surely largely depends upon the airline, travel experts said.
“There may be this sort of gray area where we’re on the mercy of what the airline’s policy is,” Napoli said.
Experts are also divided as as to whether the outage constitutes an event inside or outside of airlines’ control — a very important consider determining whether a customer is entitled to any sort of economic compensation.
What to learn about airlines’ financial duty
There’s really just one guarantee about an airline’s financial duty: Customers are owed a refund of the ticket price (and charges) if the carrier cancels their flight — no matter the rationale — they usually select to not travel on an alternate flight, based on the U.S. Department of Transportation.
That is true even for non-refundable tickets.
Which means customers would get money back on a canceled flight in the event that they opt to not fly, and likewise decline an alternate like a rebooking or flight voucher, said John Breyault, travel expert on the National Consumers League.
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Passengers are also entitled to a refund for “significant” schedule changes or delays, and opt to not fly, the DOT said.
Nonetheless, the DOT doesn’t define “significant.” That determination is predicated on aspects like length of delay and flight and particular circumstances, the agency said.
Starting Oct. 28, airlines may have to “promptly” and robotically pay refunds to customers, attributable to a Biden administration rule issued in April. That rule also defines “significant” itinerary changes, including delays of three hours for domestic flights and 6 hours for international flights.
Nonetheless, for the reason that rule takes effect in October, it doesn’t help customers affected by Friday’s outage. They might must “jump through hoops with the airline” to say a refund, Breyault said.
It could be yet more difficult for fliers who bought a ticket through a third-party booking site, and in a roundabout way with the airline, experts said.
Customers will likely must transact with that intermediary for any kind of economic compensation, said Napoli.
Expedia, for instance, said on social media Friday morning it was “experiencing high call volume and long wait times attributable to a world IT outage. In case your needs usually are not urgent, please consider postponing your call and chat to avoid long hold times.”
Airline policies differ on meals, hotels
Nonetheless, many travelers affected by Friday’s outage need or need to fly to their end destination, meaning they would not be entitled to a refund.
There are generally no federal guarantees for travelers in such cases. That is where specific airline policy comes into play.
“The airline goes to fly you to your destination, on the following available flight,” said Sara Rathner, a travel expert at NerdWallet.
“What might differ [between airlines] is how much compensation you would possibly get after the actual fact, not only for the delays but some other costs you would possibly incur,” she added.
The United Airlines terminal on July 19, 2024 as a world technology outage affected LAX airport in Los Angeles.
Myung J. Chun | Los Angeles Times | Getty Images
The Transportation Department website outlines carriers’ guarantees to customers within the event of cancellations or delays longer than three hours. (Its dashboard outlines policies for 10 large U.S. airlines and their regional operating partners, which account for 96% of domestic passenger air traffic.)
Airlines are “required to stick” to those guarantees, the agency said.
All airlines commit to rebook passengers on the identical airline without cost. Some will accomplish that on a partner airline, and most will offer a meal and/or a hotel stay for long delays or cancellations, Napoli said.
Is the worldwide IT outage ‘controllable’ or not?
Nonetheless, airlines’ commitments only apply to circumstances throughout the airline’s control.
A “controllable” flight cancellation or delay could also be attributable to maintenance or crew problems, cabin cleansing, baggage loading or fueling, for instance, based on the Transportation Department.
It’s generally harder for consumers to get any form of compensation for uncontrollable events like weather, Breyault said.
Experts appear to disagree on whether Friday’s outage can be deemed to be inside airlines’ control.
CrowdStrike, a cybersecurity firm, experienced a significant disruption on Friday linked to a tech update. That impacted organizations like Microsoft, which scrambled to revive apps and services utilized by an enormous variety of firms — including airlines.
A Delta Airlines kiosk displays a message that reads “It looks like Windows didn’t load appropriately” at Ronald Reagan National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, on July 19, 2024.
Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images
“This seems a number of degrees faraway from the airlines,” said Rathner of NerdWallet. “It’s software they use as a part of their operations.”
Nonetheless, airlines select their vendors, Breyault said. One could argue “a failure by one in all their vendors is controllable,” he said.
“I believe it’ll be something consumers should keep watch over,” Breyault said.
Passengers should keep any receipts for unexpected costs incurred attributable to a delay or cancellation — like those for lodging and meals — for financial proof when filing a claim with an airline or travel insurer, for instance, Rathner said.
“It’s possible you’ll get a few of that a refund, so don’t throw those receipts away,” she said.
