Delta Air Lines canceled hundreds of flights on Monday, despite the global aviation industry having mostly returned to normal operations. The company is still working to recover from last Friday’s global IT outage.
According to data from flight tracking website FlightAware, Delta Air Lines canceled 1,500 flights last Friday and nearly 3,000 over the weekend, more than any other airline.
On Monday morning, Delta Air Lines canceled over 700 flights, accounting for about 60% of all canceled flights globally. This data makes the Atlanta-based company the most affected by the global IT outage, with most U.S. airlines canceling only about 1% of their flights. In comparison, Delta Air Lines canceled about one-sixth of its scheduled flights.
The situation at Delta Air Lines has drawn criticism from U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who stated in an email on Sunday evening, “We continue to receive reports of unacceptable disruptions and customer service issues from Delta Air Lines, including hundreds of complaints submitted to our department.”
Buttigieg added that he has told Delta Air Lines to provide timely refunds or compensation to affected customers, as well as adequate assistance services for all passengers.
Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian apologized for the incident on Sunday, attributing the issue to computer programs affecting their “crew tracking” software.
In a statement to customers, Bastian wrote, “One of our crew tracking-related tools was impacted and unable to effectively manage the unprecedented volume of changes caused by the system outage. Our team has been working around the clock to restore and rebuild full functionality.”
While many airlines of various sizes were impacted by last Friday’s IT outage, Delta Air Lines appears to be the only crucial one affected by the crew scheduling software issue.
In a memo to employees on Sunday, Delta Air Lines announced that they would be providing additional pay to flight attendants to enable them to work shifts.