Delta Air Lines is struggling with a major disruption to its operations, now entering its fifth day. The problems, which began with a global tech outage last week, have led to hundreds of flight cancellations and delays, affecting an estimated half a million passengers.
As of Tuesday afternoon, Delta had canceled over 400 flights and delayed about 860 more. The airline’s regional carrier, Endeavor Air, also canceled additional flights. These cancellations make up nearly 70% of all canceled flights within, to, or from the United States on that day.
The situation has become so severe that Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced a federal investigation. He stated,
“I’m hearing a lot of things I’m very concerned about, including people being on hold for hours and hours trying to get a new flight, people having to sleep on airport floors, even accounts of unaccompanied minors being stranded in airports unable to get on a flight.”
The problems began with a software update from cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike that crashed Windows software. While most airlines recovered quickly, Delta has been unable to fix issues with its crew tracking system.
Delta’s Chief Information Officer, Rahul Samant, warned employees that the problems might continue for several more days. He said,
“We’re optimistic we’ll get it done. There will be some things…that we will do today, tomorrow to get to a better place by the end of the week.”
The airline has stated it is cooperating with the federal investigation and is focused on restoring normal operations. However, for now, passengers are advised to prepare for potential disruptions if traveling with Delta.