Delta Air Lines: 6,000 Flights Canceled Due to Faulty CrowdStrike Update

Atlanta, Georgia United States of America
CEO Ed Bastian apologized and offered compensation for affected passengers. Long lines and stranded travelers reported at airports.
Delta Air Lines canceled over 6,000 flights since Friday due to a problem with its crew tracking software.
Delta is working to restore operations.
Other airlines, including United Airlines, American Airlines, Allegiant Airlines, Spirit Airlines, and Frontier Airlines also experienced disruptions due to the CrowdStrike update.
The root cause was identified as a faulty Windows update from CrowdStrike that affected up to half of Delta's IT systems worldwide.
Delta Air Lines: 6,000 Flights Canceled Due to Faulty CrowdStrike Update

Delta Air Lines, the second-largest airline in the world, is still grappling with flight disruptions caused by a technology issue that began over the weekend. The airline has canceled over 6,000 flights since Friday due to a problem with its crew tracking software.

The root cause of the issue was identified as a faulty Windows update from CrowdStrike, which affected up to half of Delta's IT systems worldwide. The update caused significant delays and cancellations for Delta passengers, leaving many stranded at airports or forced to change their travel plans.

Delta CEO Ed Bastian apologized for the inconvenience and assured customers that the airline is working around the clock to resolve the issue. He also offered travel vouchers, waivers, and SkyMiles Program miles as compensation for affected passengers.

The disruption has caused long lines at airports, with some passengers spending nights in airport hotels without vouchers. The US Department of Transportation has received hundreds of complaints about Delta's high number of cancellations and delays since Friday. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg spoke to Delta CEO Ed Bastian on Sunday about the situation and expressed his concern for affected travelers.

Delta is not alone in experiencing technology issues. Other airlines, including United Airlines, American Airlines, Allegiant Airlines, Spirit Airlines, and Frontier Airlines have also reported disruptions due to the global tech outage caused by CrowdStrike's software update.

The incident highlights the importance of robust cybersecurity measures for critical infrastructure such as airline IT systems. Delta is working to restore its operations and get back on track as soon as possible.



Confidence

96%

Doubts
  • Is it confirmed that the Windows update from CrowdStrike was the sole cause of Delta's IT issues?
  • What percentage of Delta's IT systems were affected by the update?

Sources

94%

  • Unique Points
    • Delta Air Lines struggled for a fourth straight day to recover from a worldwide technology outage caused by a faulty software update, stranding tens of thousands of passengers and drawing unwanted attention from the federal government.
    • , Delta CEO Ed Bastian said it would take ‘Another couple days’ before ‘the worst is clearly behind us.’
    • Delta's chief information officer said Monday that the airline was still trying to fix a vital crew-scheduling program.
    • Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg spoke to Delta CEO Ed Bastian on Sunday about the airline’s high number of cancellations since Friday. Buttigieg said his agency had received ‘Hundreds of complaints’ about Delta, and he expects the airline to provide hotels and meals for travelers who are delayed and to issue quick refunds to customers who don’t want to be rebooked on a later flight.
    • Delta has canceled more than 5,500 flights since the outage started early Friday morning, including at least 700 flights canceled on Monday.
  • Accuracy
    • Up to half of Delta's IT systems worldwide are Windows based.
  • Deception (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Fallacies (85%)
    The author makes an appeal to authority by mentioning that Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has spoken to Delta CEO Ed Bastian about the high number of cancellations and expects the airline to provide hotels and meals for travelers who are delayed. The author also mentions that Bastian told Buttigieg that they take care of their customers, implying that this is a standard practice for Delta.
    • ]Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg spoke to Delta CEO Ed Bastian on Sunday about the airline's high number of cancellations since Friday. Buttigieg said his agency had received 'Hundreds of complaints' about Delta, and he expects the airline to provide hotels and meals for travelers who are delayed and to issue quick refunds to customers who don’t want to be rebooked on a later flight.[
    • Delta CEO Ed Bastian told Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg that they take care of their customers.
  • Bias (95%)
    The article does not demonstrate any clear bias towards a specific political or ideological position. However, the author does use language that depicts Delta's response to the outage as weaker compared to other airlines. This could be seen as an implicit criticism of Delta's handling of the situation, but it is not overtly biased and does not demonstrate a disproportionate number of quotes reflecting a specific position.
    • ]Delta Air Lines was the worst performer since the onset of the outage, canceling more than 5,500 flights[
    • Site Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
      None Found At Time Of Publication
    • Author Conflicts Of Interest (0%)
      None Found At Time Of Publication

    96%

    • Unique Points
      • Delta's IT systems were affected by a faulty Windows update from CrowdStrike.
      • Up to half of Delta’s IT systems worldwide are Windows based.
    • Accuracy
      • ,
    • Deception (100%)
      None Found At Time Of Publication
    • Fallacies (100%)
      None Found At Time Of Publication
    • Bias (100%)
      None Found At Time Of Publication
    • Site Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
      None Found At Time Of Publication
    • Author Conflicts Of Interest (0%)
      None Found At Time Of Publication

    78%

    • Unique Points
      • Delta canceled over 1,000 flights on Monday alone after a computer update problem caused widespread disruptions to its crew tracking software.
      • CEO Ed Bastian apologized for the disruptions and attributed the problem to a tool affecting Delta’s crew tracking software.
    • Accuracy
      • ,
    • Deception (30%)
      The article contains selective reporting as it focuses on Delta's issues while mentioning other airlines' return to normal operations in passing. It also uses emotional manipulation by describing the frustration and inconvenience experienced by passengers, which may influence readers' emotions towards Delta and the situation.
      • Atlanta-based Delta canceled more than 1,000 flights Monday alone... Those 1,000 flights represented just over half of all flights canceled by airlines worldwide on Monday... Other US airlines had 2% or fewer of their flights canceled.
      • Delta appears to still be in the dark about the whereabouts of their crew members...
    • Fallacies (85%)
      The authors use inflammatory rhetoric by describing Delta's situation as 'pretty much back to normal except at Delta Air Lines.' They also make a dichotomous depiction by contrasting Delta's situation with that of other airlines. However, they do not provide any fallacious arguments or false claims.
      • ] Atlanta-based Delta canceled more than 1,000 more flights Monday alone,
    • Bias (100%)
      None Found At Time Of Publication
    • Site Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
      None Found At Time Of Publication
    • Author Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
      None Found At Time Of Publication

    99%

    • Unique Points
      • Delta Air Lines experienced tech outage causing flight disruptions on a large scale
      • About 19% of Delta’s flights were canceled and 13% were delayed on Monday
      • CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. identified a defect in a content update for Windows hosts as the cause of the global tech outage
    • Accuracy
      • ]Delta Air Lines experienced tech outage causing flight disruptions on a large scale[
      • Between Friday and Monday, there have been 8,500 cancellations and 35,000 delays throughout the US
    • Deception (100%)
      None Found At Time Of Publication
    • Fallacies (100%)
      None Found At Time Of Publication
    • Bias (100%)
      None Found At Time Of Publication
    • Site Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
      None Found At Time Of Publication
    • Author Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
      None Found At Time Of Publication

    98%

    • Unique Points
      • Delta Air Lines experienced over 1,000 cancellations and continues recovery efforts following a technology issue
      • CEO Ed Bastian communicates directly with impacted customers offering travel vouchers, waivers and SkyMiles Program miles
      • Long lines of passengers waited for assistance at airports and some spent nights in airport hotels without vouchers
    • Accuracy
      • More than 1,500 US flights have been canceled for three consecutive days
      • Delta's chief executive said it would take 'Another couple days' before 'the worst is clearly behind us'
      • Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg expects the airline to provide hotels and meals for travelers who are delayed and to issue quick refunds to customers who don’t want to be rebooked on a later flight
      • Delta has canceled more than 5,500 flights since the outage started early Friday morning
    • Deception (100%)
      None Found At Time Of Publication
    • Fallacies (100%)
      None Found At Time Of Publication
    • Bias (100%)
      None Found At Time Of Publication
    • Site Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
      None Found At Time Of Publication
    • Author Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
      None Found At Time Of Publication