Delta Air Lines expects outage-related cancellations to end by Thursday, CEO says

Delta Air Lines expects flight cancellations and delays that resulted from a global technology breakdown last week to be resolved by Thursday, the carrier's chief executive said.

In a message to customers, Delta CEO Ed Bastian apologized Wednesday to travelers who had their plans upended after a defective software update that cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike sent to computers using Microsoft Windows grounded flights and disrupted banks, hospitals and retailers Friday.

"While our initial efforts to stabilize the operations were difficult and frustratingly slow and complex, we have made good progress this week and the worst impacts of the CrowdStrike-caused outage are clearly behind us," Bastian said.

The U.S. Department of Transportation is investigating why Delta failed to recover as quickly as other airlines. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Tuesday that the department would also examine Delta's customer service, including "unacceptable" lines for assistance and reports that unaccompanied minors were stranded at airports. He said the department had received more than 3,000 complaints.

Bastian said Delta was committed "to taking care of those whose flights may still be impacted, with meals, hotel accommodations and ground transportation offered through vouchers and reimbursements." Affected passengers also will receive airline miles and travel vouchers "as a further gesture of apology," he said.

Delta anticipates "minimal" flight cancellations Wednesday and for Thursday "to be a normal day, with the airline fully recovered and operating at a traditional level of reliability," Bastian said.

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