SEATTLE — On Monday, frustrations boiled over at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Delta customers spent hours waiting to speak to gate agents.
According to data from FlightAware, Delta canceled more than 800 flights. Since Friday, the Atlanta-based airline has had to cancel more than 4,000 flights. It is still dealing with the aftermath of the global Crowdstrike outage.
Other airlines have managed to rebound since the outage which has intensified the scrutiny on Delta. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said his agency has received hundreds of complaints. He expects Delta to refund and reimburse customers, some of whom are spending thousands of dollars on rebooking, hotel, rental cars, and food. If that isn't happening, he encouraged travelers to file a complaint.
"Our flight was supposed to be at 5, but we got here and it was canceled," Emma Rodriguez said, a stranded passenger trying to get back to California. "Now, we have to wait in this extremely long line which just continues to get longer."
Several travelers said Delta was not providing them refunds or reimbursements. Compounding the issue, many hotels and rental cars have been booked, so customers have either been stranded or forced to pay thousands of dollars to rebook on other flights. This has hit groups traveling particularly hard.
"We just got off a cruise, trying to get back to Savannah and Delta canceled our flight," Rickey Vermillion said.
He's with his family, including his mother-in-law who is a diabetic. She is about to run out of insulin. Vermillion said the airline offered to rebook them on a flight on Friday. That is not ideal for them. He said they will more than likely try to book a flight home on another airline. He and his family are demanding Delta refund them.
Tuesday morning, Secretary Buttigieg announced the U.S. Department of Transportation is instructing Delta to "ensure the airline is following the law and taking care of its passengers."
In a post on its website, Delta said it's working 24/7 to restore operation, support customers, and get crews to the right place at the right time. Travelers whose flights were booked between the 19 and the 23 also have the opportunity to take advantage of a travel waiver which allows for a one-time change to an itinerary.
Customers also have the right to request a refund for the unflown portion of their trip here.
Other options available to Delta customers are outlined in the company's statement here.