FORT WORTH, Texas — More than five days since CrowdStrike’s global tech outage, Delta Air Lines struggled to return to normal operations on Wednesday.
While most airlines recovered, Delta has canceled more than 6,500 flights since Friday, more than any other airline during that period, according to data from FlightAware.
On Wednesday, lost luggage flooded DFW Airport’s terminal E.
Darius Thompson, a delivery employee for lost luggage delivery platform Roadie, said he noticed a surge in demand for his services beginning Saturday. Thompson said he normally delivers two to three lost bags per day but has delivered around 25 lost bags daily since this weekend.
“This is multiplied 10 times over. This morning I came in and I couldn’t walk through because of the bags acting as a barricade,” Thompson said. “I’ve been to Waco, Austin, and Paris, Texas.”
One customer, who preferred not to be named, told WFAA he had been stranded in Atlanta since Friday, unable to return home to North Texas.
“I was stuck in the boarding area for two days with no accommodations, no drinking water, nothing,” he said. “I’m feeling very frustrated, sick and tired.”
It’s stories like his- and more than 3,000 formal customer complaints that prompted the Department of Transportation to launch an investigation into Delta. The DOT is also investigating reports that unaccompanied minors were stranded at airports.
DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg tweeted the following on X Tuesday, following the announcement of an investigation: “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.”
Buttigieg spoke about the issue again on Wednesday with WFAA’s partner CNN.
The airline issued a message from CEO Ed Bastian to customers while the CEO was in Paris to attend the Summer Olympics. In the message, Bastian apologized to travelers who had their plans upended.
In a written statement Wednesday morning, Bastian said Delta anticipates Thursday will be “a normal day, with the airline fully recovered and operating at a traditional level of reliability.”
Bastian said Delta is committed to taking care of customers whose flights are affected, "with meals, hotel accommodations and ground transportation offered through vouchers and reimbursements.” Those passengers also will receive airline miles and travel vouchers “as a further gesture of apology,” he said.