Credits: The Independent
Delta Air Lines (DAL.N) reported a significant decrease in cancellations on Wednesday as the airline works to recover from a wave of disruptions that resulted in over 6,000 canceled flights since Friday.
As of 6:30 a.m. ET (1030 GMT), the Atlanta-based carrier had canceled only 47 flights—just 1% of its schedule—compared to 511 cancellations on Tuesday and 1,160 on Monday. Delta attributed the improvement to “solid day-over-day progress across operating metrics,” which the airline praised as a team effort.
The disruptions began after a software update by global cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike (CRWD.O) caused system issues for Microsoft (MSFT.O) customers, including many airlines, on Friday. While other major U.S. carriers quickly resumed normal operations, Delta continued to experience significant delays and cancellations.
The U.S. Transportation Department (USDOT) launched an investigation on Tuesday into Delta’s extensive disruptions, which affected over 500,000 passengers and left many stranded across the United States. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg emphasized the focus on understanding “how this breakdown could have happened, and how it could be that days after the other airlines are back to normal” as well as examining Delta’s customer service response.
“We require a basic level of customer service,” Buttigieg stated. The prolonged disruptions have left many customers frustrated, with reports of long waits for assistance and some travelers resorting to renting cars and driving hundreds of miles to reach their destinations. Others faced days-long waits for new flights.
Representative Rick Larsen, the top Democrat on the House Transportation Committee, announced plans to introduce legislation aimed at enhancing the operational resiliency of airlines. “The slow response by some airlines to this meltdown has been unacceptable,” Larsen said.
Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell expressed concern that Delta may not be complying with passenger rights obligations under new legislation.
In a related incident, Southwest Airlines (LUV.N) agreed to a record-setting $140 million civil penalty in December over its 2022 holiday meltdown, which led to 16,900 flight cancellations and stranded 2 million passengers, concluding a USDOT investigation.