Duckworth Urges Secretary Buttigieg to Examine Whether Delta Complied with Federal Law After Nationwide Meltdown
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] — Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)—a member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation (CST) and Chair of the Subcommittee on Aviation Safety, Operations and Innovation—expressed her deep concerns to U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Pete Buttigieg after Delta Airlines took so much longer than other carriers to recover from the faulty CrowdStrike software update. In a letter sent to Secretary Buttigieg, the Senator noted that Delta canceled more than 460 flights on Tuesday after canceling almost 1,200 flights on Monday, leaving thousands of passengers and their families stranded and jumping through hoops to seek relief. The Senator encouraged Secretary Buttigieg to review Delta’s compliance with applicable laws and regulations—such as the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 that Senator Duckworth helped author—so that passengers can get the help they need.
In her letter to Secretary Buttigieg, Senator Duckworth wrote: “I encourage you to review Delta’s actions for compliance with all applicable laws and regulations. As you know, the recently enacted FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 includes enhanced consumer protections including a right for passengers to receive a prompt refund if they choose not to rebook when their flight is canceled or unreasonably delayed due to something within the airline’s control. The law also requires carriers to ensure reasonable access to live customer service agents.
She continued: “I also encourage you to examine the alarming information indicating that at Delta, every IROP disruption results in pilots being unable to contact Delta Air Lines and feeling abandoned by their employer. If such breakdowns in lines of communication between pilots and management proves to be a regular occurrence during any IROP, the Department must act to force Delta to fix that unacceptable status quo.”
A full copy of the letter is available below and here:
Dear Secretary Buttigieg:
Days after a faulty CrowdStrike software update, Delta Air Lines—and its beleaguered passengers—continue to struggle. This stands in marked contrast to other air carriers that appear to have recovered from the irregular operation (IROP) disruption far more efficiently. On Tuesday, Delta canceled more than 460 flights, after canceling almost 1,200 flights on Monday. By comparison, United Airlines and American Airlines only canceled 2 percent of their flights on Monday. Such divergent outcomes raise serious questions about Delta’s operational redundancy, resiliency and readiness in an environment where cyber threats to critical information technology systems are ubiquitous and growing in scope and sophistication.
Stranded passengers have encountered piles of unclaimed bags and long lines of passengers trying to get customer assistance. Flight crews have been similarly afflicted. According to Captain Darren Hartmann, the chair of the Air Line Pilots Association at Delta, crew members, “experience the same unacceptable obstacles . . . [including] the inability to contact the Company in any capacity and the feeling that we have been abandoned in the system.” Worse, there are reports that Delta suspended, with little notice, travel for unaccompanied minors—leaving children stranded across State lines or possibly in other countries. If true, this is unconscionable.
This chaotic incident clearly calls for an investigation and I am pleased that the Department of Transportation has opened one.
I encourage you to review Delta’s actions for compliance with all applicable laws and regulations. As you know, the recently enacted FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 includes enhanced consumer protections including a right for passengers to receive a prompt refund if they choose not to rebook when their flight is canceled or unreasonably delayed due to something within the airline’s control. The law also requires carriers to ensure reasonable access to live customer service agents.
I also encourage you to examine the alarming information indicating that at Delta, every IROP disruption results in pilots being unable to contact Delta Air Lines and feeling abandoned by their employer. If such breakdowns in lines of communication between pilots and management proves to be a regular occurrence during any IROP, the Department must act to force Delta to fix that unacceptable status quo.
Lastly, I encourage you to advise me if, in light of this experience, the Department of Transportation needs any additional authority to ensure something like this never happens again.
The flying public, and the dedicated flight crews that serve them, clearly deserve better.
Sincerely,
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