SEATTLE- Airline websites, including Delta Air Lines (DL) and United Airlines (UA), experienced service disruptions on Monday due to an hours-long outage of Amazon Web Services (AWS). The outage affected multiple AWS services in the US-EAST-1 Region, leading to delays.
Passengers attempting to check in at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL) and Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) reported difficulty accessing reservations and online check-in functions.
System Outage Details
Amazon confirmed early Monday that its systems were experiencing increased error rates and latencies. By 5:27 a.m. ET, the company announced that “most requests should now be succeeding” while continuing to work through a backlog of queued requests, as quoted in CNBC.
We continue to work through a backlog of queued requests. We will continue to provide additional information.
adding that its customers were experiencing:
increased error rates and latencies for multiple AWS services in the US-EAST-1 Region.
Several airline internal systems were temporarily impacted, though airlines activated backup processes to restore functionality.
The AWS disruption began in the early hours and affected multiple airline web portals and applications. United Airlines acknowledged a system glitch that impacted online tools, while Delta reported minor delays but did not anticipate significant customer impact.
Airlines relied on backup systems and staff interventions to manage check-ins and maintain operations.
Airline Response Measures
United Airlines stated that internal systems were temporarily affected, but crews and customer service teams worked to ensure passengers could continue travel plans.
Delta emphasized the use of backup systems and proactive communication to mitigate disruptions.
Overall, flight delays worldwide were minimal according to flight tracking data, despite passenger complaints about inaccessible check-in functions. Here are the details:
More than 7,800 U.S. flights were delayed on Sunday, according to FlightAware, with staffing shortages, bad weather and other constraints contributing to the problems.
WIkimedia Commons
Customer Experience Impact
Passengers reported frustration with mobile apps and websites that could not display reservations or allow baggage drop-off.
Some social media posts highlighted the challenge of completing check-in or changing travel plans during the outage.
Airlines reassured travelers those operations continued, and staff support was available at airport counters. A similar a botched software update had disrupted air travel, affecting a lot of airlines:
Delta said the disruption forced it to cancel more than 5,000 flights and cost it more than $500 million in revenue and compensation for passengers, among other expenses.
Bottom Line
The AWS outage highlighted the vulnerability of airline digital systems to cloud service disruptions.
While backup systems limited operational impact, the incident demonstrates the importance of contingency planning for airline IT infrastructure.
Airlines continue to monitor AWS systems and work with cloud providers to prevent future disruptions.
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