The Department of Transportation is investigating Delta Air Lines to ensure it is taking care of consumers amidst ongoing flight cancellations following last week’s global technology 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 stated on social media Tuesday. Buttigieg previously mentioned that his department had received “hundreds of complaints” about Delta’s response to the tech outages.
Delta, based in Atlanta, has faced significant challenges in resuming full operations after a failed software update by cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike late last Thursday affected businesses worldwide. The defective update disrupted Microsoft’s Windows operating systems, causing corporate users to lose access to their systems and, in some cases, encounter the “Blue Screen of Death.”
The incident impacted nearly every major industry, including healthcare providers, delivery companies, retailers, and financial institutions. Airlines and airports were particularly hard hit: on Friday alone, more than 46,000 flights were delayed and another 5,171 flights were canceled, according to FlightAware, with Delta being the most affected.
Delta reported that it canceled about 3,500 flights across its operations on Friday and Saturday. Data from FlightAware shows the airline canceled more than 2,500 flights on Sunday and Monday and delayed another 3,441 flights. As of Tuesday, 738 flights have been 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 stated on Sunday. “I want to apologize to every one of you who have 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 added that Delta uses a “significant number of applications” based on Microsoft Windows, including a crew tracking tool that was unable to process changes prompted by the system shutdown. Delta announced that it has issued a travel waiver, allowing customers to change their flights for free, and provided meal vouchers, hotel accommodations, and transportation.