When United Airlines passengers began getting alerts earlier this month about a technology outage that was disrupting their flights, many undoubtedly felt a sense of déjà vu.
It was, after all, the third such glitch at a major U.S. airline in as many months, and before it was resolved more than 60 flights were canceled and another 1,000 were delayed, affecting in all, about 35 percent of the airline’s daily schedule for the rest of the day.
United, which earlier this year bore much of the brunt of the air traffic control–related tech woes at Newark, quickly reassured customers that operations would soon be back to normal, and within a week it was old news. But this time, the problem was with one of the carrier’s systems, Unimatic, a legacy mainframe program dating back to the 1970s, which feeds data to other systems that track flight times and help calculate weight and balance data necessary for takeoff.
Indeed, while the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has been criticized recently for relying on aging systems for air traffic control, some airline experts point out that the industry, including airlines themselves, has also been slow to upgrade the technology their operations depend on.
“The big question is why, at a time when the country has come so far in terms of technical advances, we’re canceling more flights than ever because of these outages,” said William McGee, senior fellow for aviation and travel at the American Economic Liberties Project. “Based on what we’re seeing, it does not appear they’re investing the resources needed to maintain their technology.”
When these meltdowns occur during the busy summer season, fuller flights make it more difficult to recover and accommodate stranded passengers, McGee noted. In each of the recent cases, while the actual tech glitch was fixed within hours, the effects lingered on through at least the following day.
The latest spate of snafus began on June 27, when dozens of American Airlines flights were grounded across the USA due to an outage in its flight information communications systems, which threw a wrench in the carrier’s schedules when gate agents were unable to board passengers and pilots were blocked from accessing flight plans. Then, on July 20, Alaska Airlines was forced to ground its entire fleet of some 200 planes due to a software outage that lasted around three hours—with the fallout still being felt 24 hours later.
In all three recent cases, the airlines have taken pains to point out that the problem is not related to cybersecurity. So, is it just that, as with any technology, older systems will be more prone to breakdowns?
“Airlines have very complex operations, and as such, they run hundreds if not thousands of software programs,” said Henry Harteveldt, travel industry analyst at Atmosphere Research. “But what concerns me in these instances is that it appeared there were no backup systems that could have kept things running when the primary system failed.”
Airlines do periodically upgrade their legacy systems, he said, but they are still behind. “They can’t keep kicking the can down the road; after all, this is a huge endeavor, it’s not like updating your smartphone.” As in many industries, airlines depend on software vendors for updates and maintenance, and a faulty update can rapidly turn into a major disruption, given the size and scope of their operations.
In fact, the warning signs have been there for a while. Take last year’s epic meltdown at Delta Air Lines, which over a five-day period in July of 2024 resulted in more than 7,000 flights being canceled and disrupting the travel plans of about 1.3 million passengers. The problem was caused by a faulty software update at cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, and while other airlines were also affected, Delta passengers were hit hardest; the airline claims it lost $500 million in out-of-pocket expenses caused by the disruption.
Delta subsequently sued CrowdStrike for damages and penalties. The case is still ongoing, and both sides have traded barbs about their responsibility for the debacle. CrowdStrike responded to the lawsuit by alleging that the airline’s slow recovery from the episode was due to its “failure to modernize its antiquated IT infrastructure.” Delta disputed that claim, asserting that it has invested billions in state-of-the-art technology in recent years.
That incident, on top of some catastrophic tech malfunctions at Southwest Airlines the previous year, unfortunately during the busy winter holiday travel period, prompted some members of Congress to call on the Department of Transportation to investigate the state of airline technology. However, the recent string of glitches has drawn little reaction from Washington this year.
“Air travelers should expect that these types of disruptions will continue,” said Joe Brancatelli, a business travel expert who runs the website Joesentme.com. But he said it was encouraging that United, for one, said it is treating the issue as something within its control, so it covered expenses like meals and hotels for customers who needed them during last week’s delays.
He offers the following tips for what air travelers can do to protect their trip.
“Always have a plan B,” said Brancatelli, and don’t leave home without knowing what your options are if your flight gets scrubbed. If possible, try to avoid checking a bag in case you have to switch to another flight.
The days when airlines would automatically offer to transfer your ticket over to another carrier that could get you to your destination faster are long gone, he said, “but you can always ask.”
Check ahead on what your airline’s policy is for handling disruptions, and use the DOT’s airline customer service dashboard to be up to date on what’s owed by each carrier.
If you are traveling abroad, be sure to familiarize yourself with the European Union’s rules on compensating passengers for delays.
Afar has also put together an extensive guide on what to do as soon as your fight is canceled or delayed.
