Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced today that the Department of Transportation opened an investigation into Delta Air Lines, which has canceled over 4,000 flights in the aftermath of last Friday’s global software outage “to ensure the airline is following the law and taking care of its passengers during continued widespread disruptions.”
.@USDOT has opened an investigation into Delta Air Lines to ensure the airline is following the law and taking care of its passengers during continued widespread disruptions.
All airline passengers have the right to be treated fairly, and I will make sure that right is upheld.
— Secretary Pete Buttigieg (@SecretaryPete) July 23, 2024
Per a report from FOX Business, Delta said that it is fully cooperating with the department and is “working tirelessly to care for and make it right for customers impacted by delays and cancellations as we work to restore the reliable, on-time service they have come to expect from Delta.”
However, Buttigieg’s post came just one day after he said that hundreds of complaints regarding service disruptions at Delta have been filed with the department.
We have received reports of continued disruptions and unacceptable customer service conditions at Delta Air Lines, including hundreds of complaints filed with @USDOT.
I have made clear to Delta that we will hold them to all applicable passenger protections.
— Secretary Pete Buttigieg (@SecretaryPete) July 22, 2024
Last Friday, CrowdStrike’s global tech outage temporarily hindered airline operations, with Delta struggling to recover its systems and restore its operations despite its rivals getting back to normal.
Austin-based CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. said the global issue, which also impacted emergency services, banks, hospitals and other businesses, stemmed from a “defect found in a single content update for Windows hosts.”
Airline operations were halted as a result of the outage, causing 35,000 delays throughout the U.S. and 8,500 cancellations between Friday and as of 10 a.m. ET Monday, according to FlightAware spokesperson Kathleen Bangs.
Delta suffered the most disruptions each day. CEO Ed Bastian said that “a significant number of applications,” including Delta’s crew tracking-related tools, rely on the Microsoft Windows operating system.However, even as things get cleans up, he warned that it is still “going to take another couple of days before we’re in a position to say that… the worst is clearly behind us.”
Bastian previously said teams are working diligently to return to normal operations and said affected customers would receive either SkyMiles Program miles or a travel voucher.