After suffering through a three-day weekend where it saw more than 3,500 flights canceled and close to 5,000 delays thanks to the rolling havoc of the Microsoft/CrowdStrike outage, Delta Air Lines CEO, Ed Bastian has sent an apology to his airlines’ customers.
Bastian said that his airline’s recovery isn’t complete and having to cancel a flight is not something it takes lightly.
“The technology issue occurred on the busiest travel weekend of the summer, with our booked loads exceeding 90%, limiting our reaccommodation capabilities. I want to apologize to every one of you who have been impacted by these events. Delta is in the business of connecting the world, and we understand how difficult it can be when your travels are disrupted,” he wrote.
“Please know that Delta’s entire team of the best professionals in the business have been working around the clock to safely get you where you need to go, and restore the reliable, on-time experience you've come to expect when you fly with us.”
Bastian said that Delta has issued a travel waiver to enable those whose flights were impacted make changes to their itinerary at no charge. But, he went further than that.
“In addition, for those whose flights have been impacted, we continue to offer meal vouchers, hotel accommodations and transportation where available. And as a gesture of apology, we’re also providing impacted customers with Delta SkyMiles and travel vouchers. We will continue to keep you informed via delta.com and the Fly Delta app for the latest information on your itinerary.”
“Thank you for your patience as we work through these issues, restore our operation and return to the reliability you expect from Delta.”