Delta Airlines cancellations and delays continue but worst of IT outage impact is over, CEO says

Dozens of Delta Air Lines flights were canceled and more than 200 delayed Wednesday as the Atlanta-based carrier continued to recover from last week’s global CrowdStrike-Microsoft IT outage.

But in a statement, Delta CEO Ed Bastian said the carrier had largely recovered from the outsized impact it experienced from the incident.

Data from FlightAware on Wednesday morning showed 47 canceled and 242 delayed Delta flights, though it was not immediately clear how many were attributable to IT issues, as a major storm system moved through the southern United States.

Dallas-based American Airlines was seeing similar cancellation and delay numbers.

Separate data from the aviation intelligence group Anuvu showed 16% of scheduled Delta flights were canceled, with just 18% departing on time.

In his statement, Bastian said he expected cancellations Wednesday ‘to be minimal.’

‘While our initial efforts to stabilize the operations were difficult and frustratingly slow and complex, we have made good progress this week and the worst impacts of the CrowdStrike-caused outage are clearly behind us,’ Bastian said, noting delays and cancellations were down 50% Tuesday compared to Monday.

‘Thursday is expected to be a normal day, with the airline fully recovered and operating at a traditional level of reliability.’

Delta said Tuesday that many of its worldwide operations relied on Microsoft, and that a crew scheduling system had seen an acute disruption as a result of the glitch.

That led to thousands of the carrier’s flights being canceled, leaving passengers stranded at airports and prompting the Transportation Department to investigate.

In an appearance Tuesday on NBC News Now with Hallie Jackson, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said he had spoken with Bastian to remind him that passengers who decline to take rebookings are entitled to cash refunds.

“This could absolutely lead to major enforcement action,” Buttigieg said, noting the record penalty his department had levied against Southwest Airlines after its 2022 winter meltdown.

‘We really wanted to send a message that this is a new chapter in how we enforce passenger protections and rights … clearly we need to continue sending that message,’ he said.