WASHINGTON – In the days since a botched software update pushed to Windows users worldwide brought several major U.S. airlines to a halt, the U.S. Department of Transportation now says it’s investigating Delta over why it still hasn’t fully restored operations.
Delta’s teams are said to be working “around the clock” in hopes of returning to normal operations “by the end of the week” following Friday’s global technology disruption, according to a statement by Delta TechOPs President and COO John Laughter that the airline shared Tuesday.
“We’re seeing solid day-over-day progress across operating metrics that the entire team should be proud of,” Laughter said. “(...) With our collective focus, we will continue this momentum to be in good shape ahead of the busy weekend.”
USDOT then announced on social media that it would investigate the airline, posting just about an hour after Delta’s news release was published. The department stated its investigation of Delta was “to ensure they comply with our passenger protection laws during recent widespread disruptions” and included spoken remarks by U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
“We launched an investigation today because what we’ve seen is a very different pattern from Delta than the other airlines. Look, the entire global economy was affected on Friday and that certainly included airlines around the country and around the world, but most of those airlines recovered and got back to normal within a couple of days. Delta, on the other hand, still not back to normal as of today,” he said.
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According to Buttigieg, the USDOT had received more than 3,000 complaints from passengers about Delta at the time.
“Last I checked, more than 400 flights have been impacted and 100 flights have been canceled, I should say, and hundreds of thousands of passengers impacted. That is unacceptable and we’re concerned both about the delays and cancels, and about how hard it has been to get somebody on the phone,” he said.
The transportation secretary referenced what he called “a new era of enforcement” given the action taken by USDOT against Southwest, which reached a $140 million settlement in Dec. 2023 to resolve a federal investigation into the airline’s cancelation of thousands of flights a year prior, stranding more than 2 million travelers during the holidays.
“(It) was a record penalty designed to send a message to industry and to get accountability and some compensation for passengers, though I can’t prejudge an investigation that’s just started today on the Delta side, but I will say that same high standard that we’ve set is going to guide us from now on,” Buttigieg said Tuesday.
For now, Delta has offered a travel waiver for customers who booked from July 19-23, providing a one-time itinerary change and waiving the fare difference if rebooking occurs on or before July 28 in the same cabin as originally booked, according to the airline. Options are also said to be available regarding customers’ right to request refunds, the issuance of SkyMiles, meal vouchers and hotel accommodations, possible reimbursement for expenses such as food and lodging during the disruption and so on.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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