Frustrated families grounded as Delta chaos continues, DOT launches investigation
Written by ABC AUDIO on July 24, 2024
(NEW YORK) — Delta Air Lines passengers are voicing outrage over the growing chaos with the carrier that has yet to rebound its operations since the global tech outage.
The Atlanta-based airline is in its sixth day of flight disruptions leaving ticketed passengers stranded at airports, following the CrowdStrike outage on Friday that impacted industries from banks to hospitals.
“This is our fourth cancellation,” one frustrated traveler, Sarah Lassig, told ABC News Bay Area station KGO-TV.
“I just wish we had given up and stayed home,” her husband, Nathan Lassig, added.
As of time of publication, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation, Delta has canceled more than 6,000 flights since Friday’s IT issues began. The airline is now the subject of a federal investigation.
“We estimate that more than half a million passengers have been impacted by this,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a press briefing. “There is something unique to Delta, that requires specific attention … we want to understand how this could have happened.”
In a company memo, Delta said they’re seeing day over day progress and that “teams are working around the clock to reposition planes and people to where they need to be so we can return to normal operations by the end of the week.”
Rachelle Akuffo told ABC News that Delta canceled her and her daughter’s flight to London and the airline rebooked them with a layover of more than 340 hours.
“The math is not mathing, like in what world would I have a two-week layover?” she questioned.
There have also been reports of unaccompanied minors who have been stranded as a result of the tech meltdown that forced Delta to suspend its program for unaccompanied minors, leaving parents frustrated and concerned.
JR Reed told ABC News Atlanta station WSB-TV that he was scrambling to get his three children home after visiting relatives across the country.
“They have kids on connecting flights every day all the time,” Reed said. “It appears that they don’t want to dedicate the agents to go handle it. And I don’t think they thought through. What about all the kids that were halfway through their trips?”
According to FlightAware, at least 10,672 flights have been canceled and 54,420 flights have been delayed since Friday, as of Wednesday morning.
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