Delta Faces Transportation Department Probe amid Tech-Induced Flight Chaos

Clear Facts

• The Department of Transportation, under the leadership of Secretary Pete Buttigieg, has initiated an investigation into Delta Air Lines. This comes in light of severe operating disruptions resulting in over 4,000 flight cancellations since the previous Friday.
• The disruptions have been traced back to a technical outage caused by Austin-based CrowdStrike’s global technical issue. This affected various industries, including hospitals, banks, and emergency services, leading to an estimated 8,500 flight cancellations and 35,000 delays across the U.S.
• Delta’s CEO, Ed Bastian, has recognized the situation, attributing the disruptions to a significant number of applications, including crew tracking-related tools that rely on Microsoft Windows. He has assured that the airline is making concerted efforts to normalize operations, noting that it might take a few more days.

The Department of Transportation’s investigation into Delta Air Lines operations is a response to the extensive operational disruptions the airline has been experiencing. Secretary Pete Buttigieg made the announcement on Tuesday, stating that the aim of the investigation is to “*ensure the airline is following the law and taking care of its passengers during continued widespread disruptions*”.

Firmly emphasizing passenger rights, Secretary Buttigieg stated, “*All airline passengers have the right to be treated fairly, and I will make sure that right is upheld*”.

This announcement comes after the Department reportedly received numerous complaints about service disruptions at Delta.

The root of these disruptions traces back to a global technical outage caused by CrowdStrike, which temporarily halted airline operations. The incident significantly impacted Delta, as the airline struggled to restore normalcy in its systems and operations.

CrowdStrike Holdings Inc., explained that the global issue originated from a “*defect found in a single content update for Windows hosts*”. The impact was not limited to the airline industry, as sectors like hospitals, banks, and emergency services were also affected.

According to spokesperson Kathleen Bangs from FlightAware, the disruptions resulted in an estimated 35,000 delays and 8,500 cancellations from Friday to Monday morning across the United States.

Delta Air Lines bore the brunt of the disruptions, recording the most disturbances each day. CEO Ed Bastian explained that “*a significant number of applications*”, including the airline’s crew tracking-related tools, heavily rely on the Microsoft Windows operating system.

In a note, Bastian clarified, “*Given that CrowdStrike and a bug in one of their applications caused us to pause our entire operations, not just our operations, but our technology platform and reset on Friday, created a number of startup issues on a couple of important applications*”.

Bastian voiced cautious optimism, acknowledging it will “*take another couple of days before we’re in a position to say that… the worst is clearly behind us*”.

The CEO assured that every effort is being made to return to normal operations swiftly and mentioned that affected customers would be compensated either through the SkyMiles Program miles or a travel voucher.

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