Delta Air Lines meltdown appears to be nearing the end

Delta Air Lines says its operations are fully back on track following a multiday meltdown that saw the carrier cancel more than 5,000 flights in the wake of an IT outage on Friday.

In a letter to customers, CEO Ed Bastian said he expects a “normal day” Thursday with the airline “fully recovered.”

The Atlanta-based carrier also announced new measures Wednesday aimed at reimbursing passengers for additional travel costs incurred during the operational problems. It’s also allowing passengers with travel booked between now and Sunday to preemptively cancel and get a refund.

That announcement follows a five-day fiasco that saw hundreds of thousands of passengers’ travel plans affected, the U.S. Department of Transportation estimates. Many of those travelers were stranded, frustrated and at times unclear on a good — or affordable — way to get to their destination.

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The disruptions — the first major meltdown of a U.S. airline in 2024 — have drawn scrutiny from lawmakers on Capitol Hill and the DOT. The DOT on Tuesday announced an investigation into the Atlanta-based carrier’s response.

Cancellations are trending downward

After seeing cancellation rates steadily fall Tuesday, Delta’s operations improved dramatically on Wednesday. By 4 p.m. EDT, Delta had canceled 50 flights — about 1% of its operation.

It’s a stark improvement from cancellation rates that regularly topped 30% between Friday and Monday, when Delta canceled at least 1,100 flights daily.

Signs point to continued improvement over the coming days.

“Delta’s crews and airports are fully staffed and ready to serve our customers,” the carrier announced Wednesday afternoon. The carrier also noted Wednesday that Bastian felt operations were improved enough to move forward with a planned trip to Paris for the Olympics on Wednesday (for which Delta was a sponsor of the U.S. Olympic team).

Delta was among several U.S. airlines affected by a faulty update from cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, which affected Windows systems around the world.

But even as other carriers recovered, Delta’s cancellations continued to mount. The carrier cited particular problems re-synchronizing its crew-scheduling software — a critical program that gets pilots, flight attendants and aircraft to the right places.

“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 behind us,” Bastian wrote in a letter Wednesday morning.

Lawmakers question response

But Delta will face no shortage of questions in the weeks to come.

On top of an investigation announced Tuesday by the DOT’s Office of Aviation Consumer Protections, Congressional leaders are also demanding answers about the carrier’s response.

“While the technology outage was clearly not caused by Delta or any airline, I am nevertheless concerned that Delta is failing to meet the moment,” Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., wrote in a letter Tuesday; she called for a response from Bastian by July 30.

Related: What to do if your flight is canceled or delayed

How Delta is responding

For its part, Delta says it has provided stranded passengers with meals, hotel accommodations and ground transportation, per its guarantees spelled out in the DOT’s Airline Customer Service Dashboard.

Bastian also said the carrier is providing travel vouchers and SkyMiles to affected passengers “as a further gesture of apology.”

One affected TPG reader shared that they received 12,500 SkyMiles, per a letter from Delta. That’s worth about $143, per TPG’s points and miles valuations.

Another reader caught in the meltdown this past weekend received 10,000 miles for their trouble — worth about $115 per our valuations.

The airline is also accepting refund requests from eligible passengers here.

Reimbursements for flights on other airlines

Delta announced a temporary expansion of its reimbursement policy meant to cover passengers affected by the meltdown.

The carrier seemed to suggest it would, at least under some circumstances, pay customers back for alternative travel plans made — including flights aboard other airlines.

“We know many customers have incurred unplanned travel expenses, including purchasing tickets on other airlines, rental cars, train tickets and more,” the airline said Wednesday.

“Delta will cover reasonable costs for additional categories of expenses incurred during the duration of the travel waiver,” Delta said. The ongoing travel waiver affects travel dates between July 19 and 28.

That step goes beyond Delta’s commitments made to the DOT.

Extra refund flexibility

Under DOT policy, passengers whose flights are canceled or significantly delayed are entitled to a refund for the unused portion of their ticket, back to the original form of payment; this applies if they do not accept rebooking and choose not to travel.

Though Delta’s operations have improved significantly over the last 48 hours, if you have a flight on the carrier between now and Sunday, there’s a way to get out of it.

Delta said it will allow customers with flights between now and July 28 to cancel and get a full refund, even if their flight hasn’t been canceled or significantly delayed.

Baggage backlog

Meanwhile, Delta shared Wednesday that its baggage backlog in the wake of the meltdown is “trending significantly downward.” It cited “major initiatives” at its hub airports to reunite customers — from using shipping partners to flying luggage.

Related: What to do if you’re stranded because of Delta’s meltdown

In the meantime, operations appear to be mostly back on track.

Questions abound, though, about whether customers might look differently at the airline’s ordinarily stellar reputation for operational reliability.

“I’ve received emails from many of you who are understandably frustrated with the pace of progress and the difficulty in getting the service you deserve,” Bastian wrote in Wednesday’s letter. “To our customers who were impacted, I want to thank you for your patience and apologize again for the disruption to your travel.”

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