Travelers at MSP Airport continue to struggle with Delta flight issues
Delta still struggles with delays, cancellations
It’s been nearly a week since a global tech outage led to thousands of flight cancellations, but Delta Air Lines is still struggling to get back on track. The company’s CEO believes there will be minimal disruptions on Wednesday, and Thursday is expected to be a relatively normal day. FOX 9’s Se Kwon visits MSP Airport to see how things are progressing.
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - It’s been nearly a week since a global tech outage led to thousands of flight cancellations, and while most airlines have recovered, Delta Air Lines is still struggling to get back on track.
Impacts at MSP
Delta appears to be the airline hardest hit by the outage and is struggling to recover. The Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) is one of Delta’s hubs, and as of 11 a.m. on Wednesday, the airline had delayed roughly 50 flights and canceled about 10, according to the website Flight Aware.
However, the number of impacted flights is significantly lower than on Friday when the initial outage occurred.
Delta previously said their scheduling system that put crews and pilots in place was still having issues. Passengers complained of poor customer service, bad communication and lost luggage.
In an update Wednesday morning, the company’s CEO said things are starting to improve.
"Delays and cancellations were down 50% Tuesday compared to Monday, and we anticipate cancellations Wednesday to be minimal. Thursday is expected to be a normal day, with the airline fully recovered and operating at a traditional level of reliability," the statement reads.
Federal investigation
The Department of Transportation has launched an investigation into Delta Air Lines as it struggles to restore operations.
The investigation is to ensure that Delta is treating customers as required under passenger protection laws, which, among other things, require prompt refunds and reimbursements for food and lodging.
"You shouldn’t be forced to sleep on the floor of an airport or stranded without access to customer service help. We are taking action to investigate Delta for its treatment of passengers," said U.S. Secretary Pete Buttigieg in a post on X.
Passengers can report issues about airlines online here.
When will things return to normal?
In a statement on Wednesday, Delta CEO Ed Bastian said the airline hopes to have recovered and returned to normal operation by Thursday.