After IT outage, students stuck in Puerto Rico after flight cancellations

Days after a global IT outage that impacted millions of travelers last week, some airlines were still recovering on Monday.

Some travelers were still trying to get to their final destination, including a group of students from the south suburbs who have been stranded in Puerto Rico since Friday, an extended stay that's costing them thousands of dollars.

The trip was an opportunity of a lifetime for teens who were part of a global student leadership program with the Olympia Fields-based Gloria J. Taylor Foundation.

"Many of our students have never traveled before, never been on a plane, so that was a great opportunity," said Dr. Theresa Dixon, CEO of the Gloria J. Taylor Foundation.

The group traveled to Puerto Rico to network, to learn about the culture, and for some fun in the sun.

But when it was time to leave last Friday, Dixon said they were alerted that their flight was canceled.

"So I was like, 'Whoa. Wait a minute, so what do we do now?'" she said.

The group of 20 students and five adult chaperones was among the millions of travelers impacted by the massive Crowdstrike IT outage that disrupted flights across the world.

As airlines got back up online, the group in Puerto Rico was rebooked on another flight with United Airlines, but that flight was canceled.

Then, a third rebooking was also canceled.

"We have some students that are leaving this week to go to college, so they have one or two days now to be with their family before they're gone for four months, so it's just been difficult," said Jacque Butler, a counselor. "It's been a roller coaster."

The students' parents are also now growing concerned.

"I can only imagine what they're thinking, and their parents are being supportive as well, but we want to get them home," said Jovan Dixon, associate director of the organization.

Dr. Theresa Dixon was able to make it back home on Sunday night with seven of the students, and while she is hopeful that the rest of her team make it back on their rebooked flight set for Tuesday, she wants some answers from United. That's especially after their extended stay resulted in them going over budget by nearly $20,000.

"They didn't even offer us waivers, or vouchers for food for housing, so everything, the additional fees came out of our pocket," said Dr. Theresa Dixon.

In a statement issued late Monday afternoon, United said, "We were able to get some of the group back to Chicago on Sunday and the remaining customers have purchased tickets on other airlines to get home. We will continue to work with the customers directly to provide refunds of the unused tickets and compensation for their extended stay."

The nightmare that many travelers experienced since Friday's internet outage again put a spotlight on travelers knowing their rights. The U.S. Department of Transportation urged those impacted by delays and cancellations to go to transportation.gov to learn what, if any, type of recourse they have.