Key Takeaways
- The U.S. Department of Transportation has opened an investigation into Delta Air Lines’ stretch of cancellations and delays since last Friday’s global tech outage.
- Delta has been the most heavily impacted of the major airlines, canceling hundreds of flights Tuesday while competitors United and American Airlines were canceling far fewer.
- Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Tuesday that the agency is investigating whether Delta has adequately protected its customers during the cancellations.
Delta Air Lines (DAL) is officially being investigated by the Department of Transportation (DOT) over its response to Friday’s global tech outage that caused the cancellation and delay of thousands of flights in recent days.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Tuesday morning that the agency will investigate Delta “to ensure the airline is following the law and taking care of its passengers during continued widespread disruptions.”
How Delta Has Been Impacted
Delta has remained the most heavily impacted of the major airlines, canceling over 460 flights by 12:30 p.m. ET Tuesday while competitors United (UAL) and American Airlines (AAL) had canceled 45 and 38 flights, respectively, according to data from the flight tracking website FlightAware.
The airline has said that Friday’s outage, caused by an update from security software provider CrowdStrike (CRWD) that impacted millions of devices running on Microsoft’s (MSFT) Windows operating system, impacted one of Delta’s tools that tracks crew schedules. The issues meant it has become increasingly difficult for Delta to ensure flights have a full crew for rescheduled flights, the company said.
Delta has also extended offers to help customers rebook their travel without incurring significant expenses through Tuesday as hundreds of flights are still being canceled.
What Could the DOT Investigation Do?
Buttigieg said in his posts on X on Tuesday that travelers are encouraged to inform the DOT if they believe Delta has violated consumer protection laws.
In December, Southwest (LUV) was hit with a civil penalty of $140 million over the airline’s handling of a 2022 winter storm that caused nearly 17,000 flights to be canceled. The DOT found that Southwest failed to provide “adequate customer service assistance,” along with delays in providing flight status updates and refunds to customers.
Buttigieg said when the fine was announced that the penalty, 30 times larger than any previous one ever handed out by the DOT for consumer protection violations, should put all airlines “on notice” that they need to protect their passengers, or potentially face enforcement actions from the DOT.
Delta shares flat at $43.83 as of 12:30 p.m. ET Tuesday.