Major US carrier Delta Air Lines continues experiencing major network disruptions related to the global technology outage that caused thousands of flight cancellations on the “busiest travel weekend of the summer”, according to chief executive Ed Bastian.
While United Airlines and American Airlines have also suffered disruptions from the IT outage that started 19 July, Delta has struggled most acutely with issues related to cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike. Delta cancelled 1,360 flights on 21 July – more than a third of its total departures, according to flight-tracking website FlightAware.
On the same day, United cancelled 9% of flights, while American cancelled about 2% and delayed 43% of its flights.
Bastian addressed the carrier’s weekend-long woes in a social media post apologising for the cancellation of some 3,500 Delta flights through 20 July.
“Cancelling a flight is always a last resort and something we don’t take lightly,” he says. ”The technology issue occurred on the busiest travel weekend of the summer, with our booked loads exceeding 90%, limiting our re-accommodation capabilities.
“I want to apologise to every one of you who have been impacted by these events.”
Other airlines rebounded relatively quickly from the global IT outage, while flight disruptions continued plaguing Delta beyond the weekend. Early on 22 July, FlightAware shows that Delta had cancelled a further 455 flights, or about 12% of its daily departures.
Delta’s issues stem from crew-tracking tools that were “unable to effectively process the unprecedented number of changes triggered by the system shutdown”, Bastian adds. “Our teams have been working around the clock to recover and restore full functionality.”
Bastian says Delta has issued travel waivers allowing air travellers to change itineraries at no charge, in addition to meal vouchers, hotel accommodations and transportation “where available”.
The carrier did not immediately respond to a question about when its operations are expected to normalise.
Aviation regulators in the USA are taking a firm stance on the ongoing disruptions, with secretary of transportation Pete Buttigieg saying the government will hold Delta to all applicable passenger protections, including timely reimbursements for food and hotel stays.
”No one should be stranded at an airport overnight or stuck on hold for hours waiting to talk to a customer service agent,” Buttigieg said in a 22 July post on social media site Threads.
The US Department of Transportation has ruled the global CrowdStrike IT outage a so-called “controllable event”, meaning any flight cancellations or delays are attributable to the airline, unlike disruptions related to weather or air traffic control issues.
