by Mia Taylor
Last updated: 3:25 PM ET, Wed July 24, 2024
Amid struggles to recover, Delta’s CEO has declared that the worst impacts from the CrowdStrike outage that caused flight cancellations worldwide last week, are now ‘behind us.’
In a statement released today, CEO Ed Bastian said delays and cancellations were down 50 percent Tuesday compared to Monday, and the airline was anticipating that cancellations on Wednesday would be minimal.
Thursday is expected to be a normal day, with the airline fully recovered and operating at a traditional level of reliability.
“Since the CrowdStrike outage late last week, Delta’s team…has been working around the clock to restore the reliable, on-time operation,” Bastian said.
Delta has come under fire for taking the longest to recover from the global IT outage. For days after the worldwide technology meltdown, Delta Air Lines was still struggling when many other airlines had recovered. The carrier was reported to have had trouble getting crews in place and rebooking passengers. On Monday, Delta was forced to cancel at least one-third of its flights, about 29 percent.
At the same time, there were overwhelmingly long lines at airports, particularly at Delta’s hubs in
Atlanta, Minneapolis, Detroit, Salt Lake City and Los Angeles.
Amid the carrier’s challenges, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced on X that the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has opened an investigation into Delta over the flight disruptions associated with the tech outage.
The DOT also pressured Delta to provide hotel accommodations and
food vouchers for displaced customers.
Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian (photo courtesy Delta Air Lines)
Bastian addressed some of the carrier's challenges and the criticisms in his statement today.
“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,” Bastian said.
“While our initial efforts to stabilize the operations were difficult and frustratingly slow and complex, we have made good progress this week,” he explained.
"I know the last few days have been difficult. To our customers who were impacted, I want to thank you for your patience and apologize again for the disruption to your travel,” Bastian added. "We understand how important travel is in your lives, and we remain committed to taking care of those whose flights may still be impacted, with meals, hotel accommodations and ground transportation offered through vouchers and reimbursements.”
Delta will also be providing impacted customers with Delta SkyMiles and travel vouchers as a further gesture of apology, Bastian said.
Passengers seeking further updates regarding Delta flight status should visit delta.com or the Fly Delta app for the latest information.
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