July 24, 2024 at 01:11PM
The US Department of Transportation is investigating Delta Air Lines’ handling of the recent IT outage caused by CrowdStrike’s update, leading to numerous flight cancellations and delays. The Secretary of Transportation expressed concerns over Delta’s recovery efforts, prompting a new enforcement era. Delta’s progress update shows gradual improvements, but the aftermath is expected to result in significant financial implications for the airline and its insurers.
The meeting notes revealed that the US Department of Transportation (DoT) is currently investigating Delta Air Lines due to their handling of the global IT outage caused by CrowdStrike’s content update. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg expressed concern over Delta’s prolonged disruption and explained that an investigation has been initiated to hold the airline accountable for the impact on passengers.
Delta has faced severe operational challenges, canceling an extensive number of flights and experiencing significant delays, resulting in a multitude of passenger complaints and disruptions to travel plans. Despite their recent progress in reducing flight cancellations and clearing backlog issues, the airline is still striving to return to normal operations by the end of the week.
The repercussions of the IT outage are anticipated to result in substantial costs for Delta, including potential expenses in the region of $163 million, which may further increase as cancellations persist. Additionally, insurers are preparing for significant payouts to address the costs of downtime, business continuity disruption, and property damages.
The root cause of the global IT outage was attributed to a faulty file from CrowdStrike, which impacted approximately 8.5 million endpoints and required manual intervention to resolve. CrowdStrike has since implemented an opt-in program for automatic endpoint restoration via the cloud, although its effectiveness varies among customers. Furthermore, a preliminary postmortem by the vendor identified the oversight that led to the faulty file not being detected before distribution.
These meeting notes provide a comprehensive understanding of the challenges faced by Delta Air Lines in response to the global IT outage and the subsequent investigation by the US Department of Transportation.