SLC travelers remain stranded as Delta's flight delays persist

Dozens of flights in and out of Salt Lake City were canceled Monday as Delta Airlines struggled to recover from the weekend's travel meltdown .

The big picture: Delays and cancellations plagued almost every airline starting Friday due to a technical problem with widely used cybersecurity software that also affected hospitals, law enforcement and more.

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The intrigue: Most airlines have recovered, but Delta had canceled about 20% and delayed about 15% of its Monday flights as of mid-morning, per FlightAware.

• Technical issues were stymying Delta's crew-scheduling software, which matches available pilots and flight attendants to particular flights, Delta CEO Ed Bastian said in a statement Sunday.
• Similar operations software was at the core of Southwest Airlines' meltdown in late 2022.

Zoom in: 76 flights to and from SLC International Airport were cancelled as of Monday afternoon, with 167 delayed, per FlightAware.

• That's on top of 360 cancellations and 929 delays from Friday through Sunday.

Erin's husband captured this photo of yet-to-be-claimed baggage late Saturday at Salt Lake City International Airport. Photo: Courtesy of Craig Buschmann

What they're saying: " The technology issue occurred on the busiest travel weekend of the summer, with our booked loads exceeding 90%, limiting our reaccommodation capabilities," Bastian said in the statement .

• "I want to apologize to every one of you who have been impacted by these events."

Friction point: U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg — who's in the conversation as a potential vice presidential pick for likely Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris — said Sunday that he's "made clear to Delta that we will hold them to all applicable passenger protections."

• "No one should be stranded at an airport overnight or stuck on hold for hours waiting to talk to a customer service agent," Buttigieg, who's been championing stronger air passenger protection rules, wrote on X.

The other side: In his statement, Bastian noted that Delta is offering travel waivers, meal vouchers, hotels and other make-goods to some affected travelers.

The bottom line: What was once an industrywide problem is now squarely a Delta issue.