“This is terrible,” Becky Davis said as she waited at the American Airlines ticket counter at DFW Airport.
Davis decided to leave the secured area of the airport to book a new flight in person after facing significant delays. “We were three hours delayed in Savannah, missed our flight to Idaho Falls, and the wait times for customer service were three hours in person and eight hours on the phone. So, I chose to come to the ticket counter to try and bypass the delay,” she explained with a smile.
While North Texas carriers American and Southwest Airlines (operating from Dallas Love Field) reported that normal operations resumed by mid-morning, many travelers continued to be affected throughout the day. The disruptions were caused by a major Microsoft outage linked to cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike, which impacted check-in and booking services.
Davis’ decision paid off as she successfully booked a later flight for the evening. “Better late than never,” she said as she prepared to go through security again.
Flight Aware’s ‘Misery Map’ indicated that the worst delays were occurring in Atlanta, Houston, New York, and Washington, D.C.
Trenice Byers, on her way to a friend’s wedding in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, was among the passengers seemingly unaffected by the outage, which impacted several of her family members in Louisiana. “There’s nothing you can do about it, so you just have to handle it with grace, like God gives us. You need to stay calm and be present, and that’s what I’m doing,” she said.
The U.S. Department of Transportation has directed affected passengers to visit flightrights.gov for information on airline policies regarding meals, hotel stays, and free re-booking options.
