The Department of Transportation is investigating Delta Air Lines to ensure it is addressing consumer concerns as the airline continues to cancel flights following last week’s global tech outage.
“All airline passengers have the right to be treated fairly, and I will make sure that right is upheld,” Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg said in a social media statement on Tuesday. Buttigieg had earlier noted that his department had received “hundreds of complaints” about Delta’s response to the tech issues.
Delta, based in Atlanta, has struggled to fully resume operations after a problematic software update by cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike impacted companies worldwide late Thursday. The defect in the planned update affected Microsoft’s Windows operating systems, leaving corporate users without access and, in some cases, facing the “Blue Screen of Death.”
Nearly every major industry was affected, including healthcare, delivery companies, retailers, and financial institutions. Airlines and airports, however, were particularly hard-hit: On Friday alone, more than 46,000 flights were delayed and another 5,171 were canceled, according to FlightAware. Delta was the most affected.
Delta reported it canceled about 3,500 flights across its operations on Friday and Saturday. According to FlightAware, the airline canceled over 2,500 flights on Sunday and Monday and delayed another 3,441. On Tuesday, 738 flights were already reported as canceled or delayed, according to FlightAware.
“Canceling a flight is always a last resort, and something we don’t take lightly,” Delta CEO Ed Bastian said in a statement on Sunday. “I want to apologize to every one of you who has been impacted by these events. Delta is in the business of connecting the world, and we understand how difficult it can be when your travels are disrupted.”
Bastian explained that Delta has a “significant number of applications” that use Microsoft Windows, including a crew tracking tool that couldn’t process the changes due to the system shutdown. Delta has offered a travel waiver allowing customers to change their flights for free, as well as meal vouchers, hotel rooms, and transportation.