Pressure is rising for Delta Air Lines as it was forced to cancel more than 700 flights on Monday, as it continues to struggle and find its footing after last week’s technology outage.
On Monday, around 765 flights were canceled by the airline, and an additional 840 were delayed, according to the flight tracking service FlightAware.
Flight travel was left frozen on Friday as the security software CrowdStrike had a bug that shut down computer systems around the globe. Airlines were one industry hit the heaviest, and many are still struggling to recover.
However, the technology issues aren’t giving Delta a free pass as the airline has struggled into the weekend, sparking remarks from Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who called on the company to right the ship.
“We have received reports of continued disruptions and unacceptable customer service conditions at Delta Air Lines, including hundreds of complaints filed with U.S. DOT,” Buttigieg wrote on X on Sunday. “I have made clear to Delta that we will hold them to all applicable passenger protections.”
Over the weekend more than 1,300 flights were canceled on Sunday, and about 1,200 on Friday and Saturday.
Buttigieg also remarked that the airline should be providing proper refunds and accommodations to stranded passengers, including hotels for those trapped out of state.
“No one should be stranded at an airport overnight or stuck on hold for hours waiting to talk to a customer service agent,” Buttigieg wrote.
Delta has issued a statement on the situation, with CEO Ed Bastian apologizing for the influx of cancellations and delays, saying it was hit hard by the tech outage.
“Cancellations continue on Sunday as Delta’s teams work to recover our systems and restore our operation. Canceling a flight is always a last resort, and something we don’t take lightly,” he wrote.
Still, industry experts aren’t certain that the situation will be fixed anytime soon. ThriftyTraveler editor Kyle Potter posted on social media on Sunday that he expects things to be bad for Delta all week.
“The question is not whether Monday will be bad. It will be,” Potter wrote. “The question is whether Delta can right the ship by the weekend.”
Potter then doubled down, saying that Friday's issues were no longer the cause of the delays and cancellations, adding that Delta needed to take responsibility.
"These disruptions are not due to Friday's CrowdStrike outage. Not anymore.This is now a Delta problem, and a Delta problem alone," Potter said. "They need to own it.