Delta Air Lines, typically known for its reliability, experienced a significant spike in flight cancellations in July, placing it at the bottom of the U.S. airline industry. This decline was primarily due to the prolonged recovery from the CrowdStrike software outage that struck on July 19.
According to data from aviation analytics firm Cirium, Delta canceled 5.28% of its flights in July—a sharp increase from its 0.8% cancellation rate in June. The outage severely impacted airlines reliant on Microsoft Windows systems, with Delta being the hardest hit. In the five days following the outage, Delta canceled nearly 6,500 flights, representing two-thirds of all CrowdStrike-related cancellations globally. The airline later reported that around 7,000 flights were canceled and that 1.3 million passengers experienced travel disruptions.
United Airlines, which also struggled with the outage but recovered more quickly than Delta, had the second-highest cancellation rate at 3.4%. On the other hand, Southwest Airlines, unaffected by the outage, led the industry with a cancellation rate of just 0.57%.
Despite the high cancellation rate, Delta maintained a relatively strong on-time performance for the flights it did operate, ranking third in North America with a 72.36% on-time rate. United followed closely with a 73.12% on-time rate. In contrast, Spirit Airlines lagged behind, with an on-time rate of 65.19%, while Canada’s WestJet recorded the worst performance with a 60.85% on-time rate and a 5.98% cancellation rate.
The combined delay count for the 10 North American airlines tracked by Cirium, which includes carriers like Air Canada and WestJet, rose by 98% between June and July, totaling 23,393 delays. Alaska Airlines emerged as the most punctual, with 77.51% of its flights arriving on time.
Delta's operational struggles highlight the widespread impact of the CrowdStrike outage on the airline industry, underscoring the critical importance of resilient technology systems in maintaining flight schedules.
