The U.S. Department of Transportation is examining Delta Air Lines to ensure that it is properly serving its customers amid ongoing flight cancellations following a significant global technology failure last week.
Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg emphasized the importance of fair treatment for airline passengers in a social media statement made on Tuesday. He noted that his department had received numerous complaints regarding Delta’s response to the recent technical issues.
Delta, headquartered in Atlanta, has faced challenges in resuming full operations after a flawed software update from cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike affected multiple businesses worldwide. This update caused significant issues with Microsoft’s Windows operating systems, leaving many corporate users without access to their systems and experiencing the notorious “Blue Screen of Death.”
A wide range of industries, including healthcare, delivery services, retail, and finance, felt the impact of the outage, but airlines and airports experienced the most severe disruptions. On one day alone, Friday, over 46,000 flights were delayed and 5,171 were canceled, according to FlightAware, with Delta being particularly affected.
Over the weekend, Delta canceled approximately 3,500 flights. The airline continued to face challenges, canceling more than 2,500 flights on Sunday and Monday, while also delaying another 3,441. On Tuesday, the situation persisted, with 738 flights either canceled or delayed.
Delta CEO Ed Bastian expressed regret regarding the cancellations, stating, “Canceling a flight is always a last resort, and something we don’t take lightly. I want to apologize to everyone impacted by these events. Delta is in the business of connecting the world, and we understand how challenging it is when travel plans are disrupted.”
Bastian explained that Delta relies on a significant number of applications that utilize Microsoft Windows, including a crew tracking tool that struggled to adapt to the system failure. To assist affected customers, Delta has introduced a travel waiver that permits free flight changes, as well as offering meal vouchers, hotel accommodations, and transportation.