How to get a refund if your trip is affected by a Crowdstrike outage

Travelers are still feeling the effects of the CrowdStrike outage that took systems offline around the world on Friday.

While many airlines are back to operating more or less normally, one major airline continued to struggle on Monday.

“Delta continues to have problems, with over 700 cancellations already in place as of midday today,” said Sean Cudahy of The Points Guy.

Delta Air Lines said its crew scheduling and tracking software was affected. So what can consumers do?

“If you decide you don’t want to travel, or if your flight is canceled or significantly delayed, you are entitled to a refund in your original form of payment per Department of Transportation policy,” Cudahy said.

It’s not a voucher, credit, exemption or frequent flyer program, and Cudahy stressed that people have the right to a refund if they want one.

“If you’re flying with a heavily affected airline like Delta, request a refund for any unused tickets and rebook on another airline,” added Katie Nastro of Going.com.

The DOT also determined that Crowdstrike’s suspension was “within the airline’s control,” which is good news for consumers.

If you incur expenses for meals, hotels, transportation, etc., you may be able to get these waived.

“The Department of Transportation says the airlines should cover these costs. Delta has said it already offers some of these benefits to its passengers,” Cudahy said.

Be sure to keep and submit your receipts for reimbursement, and also check the credit card you used to pay for your trip.

They may offer trip delay insurance that will provide you with a refund.

“A credit card may cover unexpected expenses sooner than an airline could,” Nastro says. “It adds an extra layer of protection that you may not have known about.”

Finally, if you want to rebook with your original airline but need a backup plan, see if you can get a reasonable frequent flyer ticket on another airline.

You can cancel your ticket and get your miles back any time before departure.

If you have questions about what your airline covers, check flightrights.gov.