Delta CEO Ed Bastian apologized and offered frequent flyer miles to travelers for hundreds of flight cancellations as the carrier struggled to recover from Friday’s globe-spanning IT outage, disruptions that sparked criticism from Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. According to aviation data firm OAG, the Atlanta-based airline canceled more than 4,600 flights from Friday through Sunday more than any other airline. On early Monday, it was reported that Delta had already canceled another 550 flights, or 15% of its mainline operation.
The delays and cancellations have put Delta in a rare spotlight for the carrier whose leaders pride themselves on reliability and punctuality. Buttigieg said in an emailed statement late Sunday “We continue to receive reports of unacceptable disruptions and customer service conditions at Delta Air Lines, including hundreds of complaints filed with our Department. “I have made clear to Delta that we expect the airline to provide prompt refunds” to customers who chose to call off their trips because of the disruptions as well as timely reimbursements for food and overnight hotel stays to consumers affected by the delays and cancellations, as well as adequate customer service assistance to all of their passengers.
Bastian said in a message to customers quoted “I want to apologize to every one of you who have been impacted by these events Delta is in the business of connecting the world and we understand how difficult it can be when your travels are disrupted.” The airline was offering flight attendants extra pay to pick up shifts, a staff memo on Sunday said. The carrier called some of them on their personal phones to come in, according to a person familiar with the matter. High demand during some one of the busiest periods of summer challenged the airline to find alternative flights for affected travelers, Bastian said in his note.
A number of Microsoft tools that were present in Delta Airlines were impacted in the outage, “In particular one of our crew tracking-related tools was affected and unable to effectively process the unprecedented number of changes triggered by the system shutdown,” Bastian said in his note. Similar such event occurred at the end of 2022 when the Southwest Airlines suffered from severe winter weather for days.
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