Delta struggles to recover after industrywide airline meltdown
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Travelers wait to check in at the Delta Air Lines counter in Milwaukee on July 19. Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Delta Air Lines is still struggling to recover from this weekend's travel meltdown, even as other U.S. airlines are back to normal operations.
Driving the news: Delays and cancellations plagued almost every airline starting Friday due to a technical problem with widely-used cybersecurity software that also affected hospitals, law enforcement and more.
- Most airlines have recovered, but Delta has canceled about 20% and delayed about 15% of its Monday flights as of mid-morning, per FlightAware.
- That's 715 cancellations and 600 delays.
- By comparison, American Airlines had canceled only 1% of its Monday flights, while United Airlines was reporting 0 cancellations.
Zoom in: Technical issues are stymying Delta's crew-tracking software, Delta CEO Ed Bastian said in a statement Sunday.
- Airlines use such software to match pilots and flight attendants with particular flights, while also meeting minimum crew rest rules.
- Similar operations software was at the core of Southwest Airlines' meltdown in late 2022.
What they're saying: "The technology issue occurred on the busiest travel weekend of the summer, with our booked loads exceeding 90%, limiting our reaccommodation capabilities," Bastian said in the statement.
- "I want to apologize to every one of you who have been impacted by these events."
Friction point: U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg — who's in the conversation as a potential vice presidential pick for likely Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris — said Sunday that he's "made clear to Delta that we will hold them to all applicable passenger protections."
- "No one should be stranded at an airport overnight or stuck on hold for hours waiting to talk to a customer service agent," Buttigieg, who's been championing stronger air passenger protection rules, wrote on X.
- In his statement, Bastian noted that Delta is offering travel waivers, meal vouchers, hotels and other make-goods to some affected travelers.
The bottom line: What was once an industrywide problem is now squarely a Delta issue.
