As Delta tries to restore ‘normalcy,’ here’s how customers can get refunds, reimbursements

For the nearly 1 million passengers caught in the air travel mess due to the Crowdstrike IT outage, many who flew on Delta Air Lines are still seeking reimbursements for out of pocket costs to either return home or reach their intended destination. They also are seeking refunds for cancelled flights, compensation, or to be reunited with their lost luggage.

Thursday is expected to be a “normal day”, the CEO of Delta Air Lines wrote in a letter to customers Wednesday, saying the airline, by then, should be “fully recovered and operating at a traditional level of reliability.”

Delta has cancelled nearly 7,000 flights since last Friday. Cancellations were down 50% Tuesday compared to Monday, with the airline anticipating cancellations Wednesday to be minimal. . Delta’s hub of Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport has been particularly hard-hit.

If you’ve already been affected by the chaos, or are planning travel on Delta soon, you may have options. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg made it clear in an X posting on Sunday night: “Delta must provide prompt refunds to consumers who choose not to take rebooking, free rebooking for those who do, and timely reimbursements for food and hotel stays.”

Here are some helpful tips on how to recover your losses.

Of course, all airlines would like you accept a voucher or credit, for use on their own metal, when your flight is canceled or delayed.

But that often obscures the important thing for consumers: If an airline cancels or significantly changes your flight — and you don’t accept an alternative flight — you are entitled to a full cash refund for the unflown portion of the trip. A “significant change” would include departing or arriving more than three hours late, or a change of airport or in the number of connections, according to the Department of Transportation.

Delta’s own guidelines are better: They allow you to cancel and receive a refund to your original form of payment after a more than 120-minute delay.

To get started on a cancellation and refund, go to delta.com/refund-form.

Delta is also issuing SkyMiles or vouchers in an amount based on your affected travels. Customers can also choose to cancel their travel and receive an eCredit for the unflown portion of the trip.

If your travel nightmare has led to additional meal, transportation and lodging expenses, save your receipts.

As indicated by Buttigieg, airlines must reimburse for such necessary expenses in the case of a cancellation or significant delay under the airline’s control. According to Delta, “customers who have incurred hotel, meal or ground transportation expenses while in transit during this operational disruption may submit eligible expenses for reimbursement” via the airline’s website.

But Delta says it will not reimburse for “other airline tickets, prepaid expenses, including hotels and activities at your destination, concerts or lost wages.”

Travelers should file as soon as possible, and again, the more documentation you have, it helps create the narrative around when and where the situation occured.

Delta’s reimbursement request form is at delta.com/reimbursement.

On Tuesday, Delta extended its travel waiver for all passengers with scheduled departures from Friday through July 28. The waiver allows you to make a one-time change to your flight for anytime through Aug. 4 in the same class of service without paying any change fee (in the case of Basic Economy tickets) or a fare difference.

If you rebook your flight for after Aug. 4, any change fee is waived, but you would still pay the fare difference.

If you’re unable the reschedule at this time, Delta’s waiver allows you to cancel your reservation and apply the value to a future travel credit, to be used within one year of when you bought your original ticket. But it may be worth waiting to see if Delta cancels your flight first (see below).

If Delta’s scheduling problems continue, we may see the eligible dates for this waiver extended, so stay tuned if you have travel coming later in the week.

Travelers have three options for support with displaced luggage. 1. Visit their local baggage service at the airport and file a claim; go to Delta.com and search for the online baggage claim form and submit a claim, or call 1-800-325-8224 to make a baggage claim.

Delta is also working to make final mile deliveries of displaced bags to customers’ homes, hotel or final travel destination.

Some travelers are experiencing long wait times when calling Delta’s customer service lines. Due to the high volume of incoming emails, others aren’t receiving responses as fast as they would like. A messaging system on Delta’s website and app lets you communicate directly with an agent.

One piece of advice in all cases: Be patient.

So far, the best option appears to be going online, or using the Delta app, to manage changes to your travel or to fill out refund and reimbursement forms. By including the requested information in those forms, you are giving Delta the information needed to process your information quickly. You can also check the status of refunds and reimbursements online as well.

If not, you could be one of thousands on hold or whose email is in a queue of thousands waiting to be read.