Delta Airlines passengers line up for agent assistance at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on July 22, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia.
Jessica Mcgowan | Getty Images
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of Aviation Consumer Protection is investigating Delta Air Lines over chaos sparked by last week’s global IT outage, according to a statement.
The DOT cited widespread flight disruptions and customer service failures in which Delta did not uphold commitments to its passengers, it said. The agency also said the investigation will evolve as the DOT processes a “high volume” of customer complaints.
“Our department will leverage the full extent of our investigative and enforcement power to ensure the rights of Delta’s passengers are upheld,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said.
Last week a software update from CrowdStrike led to a historic outage of Microsoft systems. Airlines and other global industries were roiled, with Delta Air Lines hit particularly hard.
Delta canceled 32% of its flights on Friday and 36% on Saturday, and executives have warned the challenges would persist into this week — during the busy summer travel season.
Delta CEO Ed Bastian in a video message to employees Monday called it “a horrible weekend” and said the airline had canceled over 4,000 flights since Friday.
Bastian said he spoke to Buttigieg on Sunday about Delta’s commitment to its customers and said, “We do our very best, particularly in tough times taking care of our customers.”
Delta Chief Information Officer Rahul Samant said in the message to staff that while the carrier has been able to restore most of its systems, the “critical” crew tracker is not yet up and running.