The Department of Transportation is currently investigating Delta Air Lines to ensure that the airline is adequately addressing customer concerns following a series of flight cancellations that occurred after a global technology outage last week.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg stated on social media that all airline passengers deserve fair treatment, emphasizing his commitment to uphold this right. He had previously highlighted that his department received numerous complaints regarding Delta’s handling of the outages.
Delta, headquartered in Atlanta, has faced challenges in resuming normal operations after a problematic software update from cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike affected multiple businesses globally. A defect in this update created issues with Microsoft’s Windows operating systems, resulting in significant disruptions for corporate users, who sometimes encountered the infamous “Blue Screen of Death.”
The outage impacted nearly every major industry, including healthcare, delivery, retail, and finance, but airlines and airports experienced some of the worst effects. On one day alone, over 46,000 flights were delayed, and approximately 5,171 were canceled, as reported by FlightAware, with Delta being particularly affected.
Delta canceled about 3,500 flights across its network on Friday and Saturday, and according to FlightAware, it canceled more than 2,500 flights on Sunday and Monday while experiencing an additional 3,441 delays. As of Tuesday, 738 flights had either been canceled or delayed.
Delta CEO Ed Bastian expressed regret about the situation, stating that canceling flights is always a last resort and not taken lightly. He apologized to those affected and acknowledged the frustration caused by disrupted travel.
Bastian noted that Delta relies on a variety of applications running on Microsoft Windows, including one crucial for crew tracking, which was unable to adjust to changes resulting from the system outage. To mitigate the inconvenience for travelers, Delta is offering a travel waiver allowing customers to change their flights at no additional cost, along with meal vouchers, hotel accommodations, and transportation options.