Delta Flights Returning To Normal After System Outage

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Delta Air Lines' computer systems are back to normal after an outage that led to departure delays and cancellations Sunday night.

The outage caused about 170 cancellations Sunday, and Delta said about 110 flights scheduled for Monday were canceled with additional cancellations possible.

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In a statement on its website, Delta CEO Ed Bastian apologized to customers who were impacted by what he called a "frustrating situation."

"This type of disruption is not acceptable to the Delta family, which prides itself on reliability and customer service," he said. "I also want to thank our employees who are working tirelessly to accommodate our customers."

Delta said in a statement that the delays only affected flights on the ground. KLM and Virgin America airlines were also affected, the Port Authority said.

The Delta website and app were also down for a period of time late Sunday, the airline confirmed via Twitter.

Delta has yet to explain what caused their system glitch.

The carrier is advising travelers to check the status of their flights before heading to the airport on Monday.

It's the second time Delta's technology has failed in a year. There was another reservation system crash in August, causing long lines and massive delays.

United Airlines experienced their own computer system breakdown earlier this month.

"It makes me uncomfortable that we're so dependent on computers and on technology that if something happens everything just stops," said Trish Stewart, of Morristown, New Jersey. "I find that frightening."

Some computer software analysts told CBS2's Hazel Sanchez they're not surprised to hear about the frequency of airline computer glitches. In fact, they say they can't believe it hasn't happened more often.

Lev Lesokhin, from CAST, a computer software consultant company, said many airlines operate on antiquated systems that collapse easily because airlines continue to add new technology, such as mobile apps, on top of the old programs.

"Those systems have to be recoded, have to be redeveloped every time they want to add new products," Lesokhin said. "So that complexity is what makes it difficult to keep the system up and running."

Meanwhile, counterterrorism expert Manny Gomez says terrorist groups are constantly looking for where they can penetrate weaknesses for a potential attack.

"All these glitches that are going on could potentially lead to an opening for someone to slip in while it's happening," Gomez said.

"We got to keep in mind this happened overnight. So now everybody's playing catch-up. And in playing catch-up, there's certain chaos, and in that chaos, we could have someone slip in that we don't want in this country."

Some frequent travelers say airline computer failures feel like the norm and make them nervous to fly.

"Right now, they better know exactly what they're doing," said Ozetta Gantt, of Toms River, New Jersey, "because if they don't know, we're going to have total chaos right here in the United States, and it's sad."

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