OPINION | This article contains opinion. This site is licensed to publish this content.
The federal government, led by Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, has initiated an investigation into Delta Air Lines following significant operational disruptions that resulted in over 4,000 flight cancellations since Friday.
This investigation aims to ensure that Delta complies with regulations and treats its passengers fairly amidst ongoing issues.
Delta has acknowledged the disruptions, attributed to a global tech outage caused by a defect in a CrowdStrike software update, which affected various sectors and led to widespread delays and cancellations in the airline industry.
The Department of Transportation has initiated an investigation “to ensure the airline is following the law and taking care of its passengers during continued widespread disruptions,” Buttigieg wrote on X.
“All airline passengers have the right to be treated fairly, and I will make sure that right is upheld,” Buttigieg added.
Delta CEO Ed Bastian noted that the outage severely impacted critical operations and technology, and he warned that full recovery might take several more days.
“Given that CrowdStrike and a bug in one of their applications caused us to have to essentially pause our entire operations, not just our operations, but our technology platform and reset on Friday, created a number of startup issues on a couple of very, very important applications,” Bastian stated.
He noted that it is “going to take another couple of days before we’re in a position to say that… the worst is clearly behind us.”
Delta has committed to compensating affected customers with SkyMiles or travel vouchers as it works to restore reliable service.