The Transportation Department says it has received numerous complaints about the airline’s response to affected customers.
U.S. regulators have launched an investigation into how Delta Air Lines is treating passengers affected by hundreds of canceled and delayed flights. Five days after a global technology outage, the airline continues to struggle.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on Tuesday
said in a July 23 social media post that his agency had opened a probe “to ensure the airline is following the law and taking care of its passengers during the continued widespread disruptions.”
“All airline passengers have the right to be treated fairly, and I will make sure that right is upheld,” Mr. Buttigieg added.
As of mid-morning on Tuesday, the Atlanta-based carrier had canceled 451, or 12 percent, of its flights and delayed another 656, or 18 percent, according to the
FlightAware flight tracking website.
The outage, which began the night of July 18 into the next morning, was caused by a faulty software upgrade from the cybersecurity company
CrowdStrike and affected an estimated 8.5 million Microsoft Windows devices worldwide.
Delta said it is cooperating with U.S. regulators.
“We remain entirely focused on restoring our operation after cybersecurity vendor CrowdStrike’s faulty Windows update rendered IT systems across the globe inoperable,” a Delta spokesperson said in a statement. “Across our operation, Delta teams are 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.”
The company said that more than half of its technology systems operate on Microsoft Windows, including a tool used for scheduling pilots and flight attendants.
The Transportation Department said its investigation was prompted by Delta’s continued widespread flight cancellations and delays amid “reports of concerning customer service failures.”
The department said it expects the probe to evolve as more information becomes available “and processes the high volume of consumer complaints we have already received against Delta.”
Mr. Buttigieg has recommended customers affected by the disruptions first seek a resolution with the airline, adding that non-compliance issues can be reported online.
“While you should first try to resolve issues directly with the airline, we want to hear from passengers who believe that Delta has not complied with USDOT-enforced passenger protection requirements during the recent travel disruptions,” he wrote. “We will follow up.”
On Sunday, Delta
issued an apology on social media for the “disruptions many customers are experiencing,” adding that canceling flights is not something it takes lightly.
In another
post, the airline stated that it would cover “eligible expenses for impacted customers resulting from this flight disruption, including providing meal vouchers, hotel accommodations where available & ground transportation.”
On Thursday, Delta CEO Ed Bastian provided customers with an update on the company’s recovery status following last week’s outage.
“While our initial efforts to stabilize the operations were difficult and frustratingly slow and complex, we have made good progress this week and the worst impacts of the CrowdStrike-caused outage are clearly behind us,” Mr. Bastian wrote in an email to customers, which Delta shared with The Epoch Times. “Delays and cancellations were down 50% Tuesday compared to Monday, and we anticipate cancellations Wednesday to be minimal.”
He said the airline expects to be back to normal on Thursday.
“Thursday is expected to be a normal day, with the airline fully recovered and operating at a traditional level of reliability,” the email continued.
Mr. Bastian also acknowledged the frustration many customers have experienced over the past six days.
“I’ve received emails from many of you who are understandably frustrated with the pace of progress and the difficulty in getting the service you deserve,” he said. “I’ve also received many notes of encouragement and support commenting on the heroic efforts of our people, who are working under trying and stressful conditions. Thank you for your feedback, as well as your patience and understanding.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
