Flight cancellations persist after IT outage

• Air travel disruptions persisted on Saturday as carriers worked to recover from Friday's IT outage.
• More than 2,800 flights were canceled worldwide on Saturday, more than 2,100 of them in the U.S., according to flight aware.
• The sudden outage sparked chaos in airports around the global with thousands of travelers stranded.

Flight cancellations and delays continued on Saturday as airlines worked to recover from a global IT outage sparked chaos at airports and for other industries a day earlier.

More than 2,800 flights were canceled on Saturday, with over 2,100 of them in the United States, according to flight-tracking site FlightAware. More than 8,600 U.S. flights were delayed.

On Friday, more than 5,000 flights were canceled worldwide, with about 3,400 in the U.S. Nearly 13,000 U.S. flights were delayed.

The disruptions on Fwere similar to severe weather like a winter or tropical storm but airlines had no time to prepare for the outage, leaving them scrambling to accommodate customers ahead of a summer weekend.

A software update from CrowdStrike that went awry led to a major outage of Microsoft systems for businesses around the world.

Delta Air Lines canceled about 36% of its Saturday flights up from 32% a day earlier. Airlines waived fare differences and fees for affected customers.

American Airlines cancelled just 44 flights on Saturday, or 1% of its mainline operation, down from 11% a day earlier, the fastest recovery of the major U.S. carriers.

"Our customer is at the center of everything we do, and we thank them for their patience as our team worked together around the clock to return to normal operations just one day after the global outage," American said in a statement.

About 15% of United's mainline flights were canceled on Saturday, down from 22% on Friday, according to FlightAware data.

"Most of our technology systems have been restored and our reliability is improving, although we will continue to see cancellations and delays this weekend," United said.

How much customers with impacted flights will be reimbursed for additional expenses like meals or hotels depends on the airline's specific policy.

But customers are entitled to a refund for a canceled flight if they do not choose to travel on an alternate flight or accept a voucher.

"I am hearing reports of some airlines only offering flight credits to passengers for cancelled flights," Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a social media post on Saturday. "Let me be clear — you are entitled to get your money back promptly if your flight is cancelled and you don't take a rebooking."

— CNBC's Rebecca Picciotto contributed to this report.