Stranded by Delta? You can get a refund

This article was updated on Tuesday, August 9 to reflect updates from Delta.

On Tuesday, Delta (DAL) was still struggling to recover from a power outage that hit its Atlanta headquarters disrupted the airlines computer system early Monday. Delta canceled an additional 300 flights this morning; 1,000 flights were canceled Monday.

The outage occurred at 2:30 a.m. ET on Monday, causing delays on all flights that were awaiting departure. Delta got the systems back up and running by 8:40 a.m., but the damage was already done. As of noon on Monday, Delta operated only 1,590 flights of the nearly 6,000 flights scheduled for the day.

The delays are widespread, but the lack of updated communication seems to be a place where the airline needs improvement. “There may also be some lag time in the display of accurate flight status on Delta.com, Fly Delta App, and from Delta representatives on the phone and in the airport,” the airline wrote in a press release.

Stranded travelers took to Twitter, with many using the hashtag #DeltaDown to air their frustrations.

While it’s clear that thousands of travelers are having a horrible case of the Mondays, there is one small silver lining — a refund. The airline is offering a waiver to passengers flying on Aug. 8 and Aug. 9. So if your flight was canceled or significantly delayed, it is free to rebook your flight or you can ask for your money back. The change fee is typically $200 for domestic flights. If you decide to rebook, your tickets must be reissued on or before Aug. 21, and rebooked travel must begin no later than Aug. 21.

Should the rescheduled flight occur after Aug. 21, the change fee will be waived, but a difference in fare may apply.

On Tuesday, Delta announced that they would provide $200 travel vouchers to any customer who experienced a delay of greater than three hours or a canceled flight as a result of the outage. Passengers who have provided their email address will be contacted and sent their voucher in seven to 10 business days. Customers who have not been contacted can complete a Customer Care form to receive their voucher. All travel must be booked by Aug. 8, 2017.

If this outage sounds like a freak accident, think again. Two other major airlines have had recent computer glitches causing major delays. On July 22, Southwest canceled more than 1,100 flights after the carrier’s website was knocked offline. And in September 2015, American Airlines had a widespread outage that caused delays for flights in Dallas, Chicago and Miami.

As for Delta, travelers should expect setbacks while traveling this week. “Customers heading to the airport should expect delays and cancellations,” the airline said on its website. “While inquiries are high and wait times are long, our customer service agents are doing everything they can to assist.”

Brittany Jones-Cooper is a writer for Yahoo Finance.

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