HAVOC ensued after cybersecurity giant CrowdStrike distributed a faulty update to its security software last week, impacting millions of businesses and individuals across the globe.

Despite CrowdStrike deploying a fix within hours, outages in several key industries continued for days, and with airlines canceling or delaying flights left and right, one woman went to extremes to honor her late mother’s dying wish.

Heather Francisco (left) was devastated when Delta Air Lines lost her luggage, containing her late mother’s (right) ashesCredit: King5

Heather, who was recently diagnosed with cancer, said the flight delays also caused her to miss her first oncology appointment back homeCredit: King5

Heather Francisco is from Enumclaw, a small town in King County, Washington.

After her mother passed away earlier this year, Francisco had planned on honoring her wishes by scattering her ashes in her mom’s home state, Mississippi.

First, Francisco flew from Washington to Florida, where she planned on boarding a connecting flight to Mississippi.

Francisco then intended to fly home back to Washington on Sunday afternoon.

When she landed, however, Delta told her they had lost her luggage, the same luggage containing her mother’s ashes.

Thankfully, the airline was able to recover her missing bag, which was labeled as “fragile,” the same day.

Because it was in a different state, Francisco had to wait until the following day to reunite with her luggage – and her mother’s ashes.

When she received her luggage on Friday, July 19, Francisco thought her travel headache was over.

Then, out of nowhere, the CrowdStrike outage wreaked havoc across the globe, shutting down or delaying air travel for hours – and causing delays that lasted for days.

LAST RESORT

Despite issuing a fix later that day, the delays continued, with many airlines continuing to cancel and reschedule flights.

One airline, Delta Air Lines, immediately paused all flights when the software outage struck, and by Saturday evening, over 3,500 flights had been canceled.

Delta’s CEO Ed Bastian released a public statement apologizing for the incident, and said the company considers canceling flights “a last resort.”

He also told frustrated fliers that the outage occurred “on the busiest travel weekend of the summer,” which limited the airline’s ability to accommodate passengers on available flights.

“I want to apologize to every one of you who have been impacted by these events,” Bastian wrote.

“Delta is in the business of connecting the world, and we understand how difficult it can be when your travels are disrupted,” he added.

By Tuesday, Delta had canceled more than 4,500 flights since July 19, which amounted to more than double its total 2024 cancelations before the CrowdStrike outage.

Like many travelers, Francisco’s return flight was delayed again and again.

However, after days of delays, Delta could not get Francisco on any flights – to Mississippi or Washington.

ROAD TRIP

Francisco took matters into her own hands and decided to drive cross-country back home.

“I’m just going to drive home,” Francisco said, as reported by NBC affiliate KING-TV.

“The last thing I want – I already saw a massive amount of luggage piling up – I can’t do that,” she continued.

“I’ve got my mom in here. I can’t have her lost in Argentina or God knows where else.”

Before she could kick off her four-day trip, Francisco was hit with yet another delay.

Flights from Florida to Alabama were also canceled, requiring her to seek help from a family member to drive her from one state to the next to reserve a rental car for the trip.

“The funny thing is my mom always said she didn’t wanna fly,” Francisco said.

“She never wanted to fly again. But that she wanted to take a road trip back to Mississippi with me. I guess she’ll get her wish after all.”

Unfortunately, Francisco won’t be able to stop in Mississippi to scatter her mother’s ashes.

“Now it’s (going to be) a solid four days of driving,” Francisco said, adding, “And it’s expensive.”

She’s unsure whether she has enough paid time off from work to cover the days she’s missed as a result of the delays.

Francisco, who was diagnosed with cancer a few weeks earlier, also told reporters she had missed what was to be her first oncology appointment back in Washington because of the flight cancelations.

“It’s putting stress on me, my family, and my coworkers,” Francisco said.

“It’s tough,” she added.

Delta eventually refunded her for the cost of her return flight, which was never rescheduled.

Most of the costs, of course, went towards the rental car and gas for the cross-country trip.

As of Thursday, Francisco was driving through Texas, with her mother’s ashes by her side.

She says she intends to take another trip to Mississippi in the future to fulfill her mother’s wishes and scatter her ashes.

For now, she says she’s looking on the bright side.

“I get one more road trip with my mom,” she said, focusing on the silver lining.

Heather’s travel woes continued after days of flight cancelations and delays, causing her to have to rent a rental car and drive cross-country, from Florida to WashingtonCredit: King5