The Department of Transportation is currently investigating Delta Air Lines to ensure that the airline is adequately addressing consumer concerns following a series of flight cancellations resulting from a global tech outage last week.
Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg emphasized on social media that “All airline passengers have the right to be treated fairly” and pledged to uphold this right. He had previously noted that his department received “hundreds of complaints” regarding Delta’s response to the recent tech failures.
Delta, which is based in Atlanta, has faced challenges in returning to regular operations days after a flawed software update by cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike affected companies around the globe. The update caused significant issues with Microsoft’s Windows operating systems, preventing many corporate users from accessing their systems and leading some to experience the infamous “Blue Screen of Death.”
The incident disrupted almost every major industry, including healthcare, delivery services, retail, and finance, with airlines and airports experiencing the most severe impact. On the Friday of the outage, over 46,000 flights were delayed, and 5,171 were canceled, as reported by FlightAware, with Delta being the hardest hit.
Delta reported canceling approximately 3,500 flights over the weekend, with more than 2,500 cancellations and an additional 3,441 delays on Sunday and Monday. As of Tuesday, 738 flights had been either canceled or delayed, according to FlightAware.
In a statement released on Sunday, Delta CEO Ed Bastian expressed regret, stating, “Canceling a flight is always a last resort, and something we don’t take lightly. I want to apologize to every one of you who have been impacted by these events.” He acknowledged that Delta relies significantly on Microsoft Windows applications, including those for crew tracking, which were affected by the outage.
To alleviate customer inconvenience, Delta has implemented a travel waiver that allows passengers to change their flights without charge and is also offering meal vouchers, hotel accommodations, and transportation assistance.