Delta Airlines, already reeling from an outbreak of operational difficulties, continues to face not only continual disruptions but also the wrath of disgruntled customers and observers. Delta’s Operational Challenges The airline’s troubles started with a CrowdStrike outage that has already lasted nearly a week. The airline has been visibly unable to recover efficiently in the same way its competitors were able to. In fact, American and United Airlines managed to almost entirely recover by Monday, leaving Delta as what some observers are referring to as a ‘raging dumpster fire’. The troublesome CrowdStrike glitch not only crippled Delta’s operations, but it also caused a domino effect costing the airline an estimated $5 billion. The software malfunction has left the technology used to manage flight crews in disarray, resulting in continual flight disruptions.
Public Backlash and Controversy
Ongoing service failures have led to a barrage of grievances from customers. Some have voiced complaints about the loss and misplacement of luggage, others about excessive flight cancellations and delays. There was even a case in which a traveler was inconvenienced as his flight destination got amended three times and ultimately got cancelled, causing him to fork out an additional $900 to book a flight on another airline. The overwhelming dismay amongst passengers has led to calls for Delta and airlines alike to take greater responsibility, not just for their own flight schedules and services, but also for connecting flights with other carriers that fall into disarray due to their own operational failures. Taking Action
In response, Delta announced that they will reimburse passengers who had cancelled or aplenty delayed flights and who had to subsequently purchase tickets on other airlines. The US Department of Transportation has launched an investigation into the ongoing disruptions at Delta. Regulatory authorities are under pressure to take decisive action and increase controls over airline operations to protect passengers’ rights.