A sea of baggage pooled around the Delta Air Lines baggage service desk inside Raleigh-Durham International Airport on Tuesday after an IT outage caused five days of delays and cancelations.
The issues have led the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to start investigating the airline’s handling of the outage.
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On Tuesday, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said the U.S. Department of Transportation is investigating Delta Air Lines to ensure that Delta is following the law and following newly-established passenger protections.
Delta sent WRAL News the following statement in response to the investigation:
“Delta is in receipt of the Department’s notice of investigation and is fully cooperating. We remain entirely focused on restoring our operation after cybersecurity vendor CrowdStrike’s faulty Windows update rendered IT systems across the globe inoperable. Across our operation, Delta teams are working tirelessly to care for and make it right for customers impacted by delays and cancelations as we work to restore the reliable, on-time service they have come to expect from Delta.”
The situation is reminiscent of the Southwest meltdown during the holiday season in 2022, when the DOT penalized Southwest $140 million.
Delta said travelers who booked between July 19 and July 28 have the ability to make a one-time change to their itinerary. The fare difference will be waived if those travelers rebook before Aug. 5.
“Customers whose travel has been disrupted due to a canceled or significantly delayed flight may choose to cancel their travel and receive an eCredit for the unflown portion of the trip, or may instead request a refund for the unflown portion of the trip,” according to the website.
WRAL crews estimated more than 1,000 bags waiting to be picked up at RDU on Tuesday.
Jerry Mathews’ family of 17 was trying to get to Tampa, Florida. Due to the flight cancelations, they opted to rent a car.
“That throws everything off now,” he said. “It's for my parent's birthday. We're trying to get everyone out there.”
Delta Air Lines told WRAL News it is still working to reunite bags with customers.
“We have set up an internal Baggage Command Center in Atlanta, where we are seeing the highest number of displaced baggage, in an effort to expedite the process of reuniting customers with their belongings,” according to an airline spokesperson. “We are also leveraging all of our delivery partners to assist in making final mile delivery of bags needing to be returned to customers at their homes or their final travel destinations.”
More than 12 Delta Air Lines flights were canceled Tuesday at RDU on the fifth-straight day of travel issues caused by the widespread IT outage.
New protections for travlers mean that if passengers’ flights are canceled, they can get a refund if they choose not to travel. It also means the passengers get a refund if the flight is significantly delayed. Additionally, baggage fees are supposed to be returned if a passenger’s bags are lost.
Passengers stranded at RDU
Many Delta passengers said they had to book with other airlines to reach their final destinations. On Monday, the airline said it would cover or reimburse for meal vouchers and hotels. It also said all customers who booked flights between July 19 to 23 will be able to change their itineraries once or get a refund.
Delta executives previously said remedying this issue would take days.
For Skip Horne, who has been recovering from back surgery, it’s been a pain – literally.
Horne's flight on Monday was canceled, and there was not another available flight until Tuesday, leaving him waiting 24 hours inside RDU.
"What choice do I have?" Horne said. "I already checked out of my hotel, I have nowhere to go. This is my home for today."
Horne, like thousands of passengers nationwide, found himself stranded Monday.
Carolina Castillo’s family has been trying to get home to Florida from Italy.
"We’re so tired," Castillo said. "It’s been a long day for us. Going hotel by hotel, and we’re trying to get home. But we can’t."
A stop in Detroit Saturday turned into a two-day layover for the family. They’re now stuck at RDU after yet another cancelation.
"I already tried to look at West Palm Beach, or Miami, or Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, anywhere, but they still say they cannot find anything for like three days," Castillo said.
Castillo said it’s been a fight trying to get vouchers for food or hotels something the federal government says passengers dealing with flights canceled because of the computer outage are owed.