US regulators are currently investigating the slow recovery of Delta Air Lines from a global technology breakdown, compared to other airlines, and whether Delta’s treatment of stranded passengers violated federal rules. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced the investigation into Delta’s response to the outage, which impacted over half a million passengers. Despite efforts to return to normal operations by the end of the week, Delta and its partners canceled more than 500 flights on a single day, accounting for a significant portion of all canceled flights in the United States.
Delta’s reliance on systems running on Microsoft Windows and the failure of a key tool to handle the high number of changes during the outage resulted in over 6,500 flight cancellations since Friday. While most airlines were able to recover from the technology breakdown, Delta struggled to resume normal operations, leading to mounting complaints from passengers. Investigators are also looking into whether Delta is complying with federal regulations concerning passenger rights, including the provision of prompt refunds in the form of the original payment method. Lawmakers have raised concerns over Delta’s response to the situation, citing the need to adequately protect the needs of passengers during such crises.
The situation at Delta has drawn parallels to a previous breakdown at Southwest Airlines, where a prolonged disruption led to a substantial settlement. Consumer advocates stress the importance of how airlines recover from such incidents rather than the cause itself. Delta’s ongoing challenges in resuming normal operations post-technology breakdown have raised questions about the airline’s response and adherence to passenger rights regulations, prompting both regulatory investigations and public scrutiny.
