Delta avoids penalties as US drops CrowdStrike outage probe
The Trump administration has closed its investigation into Delta Air Lines over the 2024 meltdown sparked by a global CrowdStrike outage, without imposing any penalties. The disruption affected around 1.3 million passengers and cost the airline an estimated $500 million.
Delta Airlines plane is on air at San Francisco International Airport. Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu/Getty.
The Trump administration has closed its investigation into Delta Air Lines over the 2024 meltdown sparked by a global CrowdStrike outage, without imposing any penalties. The disruption affected around 1.3 million passengers and cost the airline an estimated $500 million.
- US regulators closed the Delta probe tied to the 2024 CrowdStrike outage without penalties.
- The disruption affected about 1.3 million passengers across the US aviation system.
- The review focused on how Delta handled customers during the meltdown.
- Authorities ultimately decided Delta met required passenger support standards.
Key Takeaways by nexos.ai, reviewed by Cybernews staff.
The Biden administration opened a probe into Delta following the CrowdStrike computer software outage, after other major carriers were able to resume normal operations much faster.
At the time, Cybernews reported that 2,200 flights had been canceled and more than 7,000 had been delayed across the US.
Besides passenger airlines, both commercial mail carriers, Federal Express and United Parcel Service, had also warned of potential delays due to the software outage.
Now, a US Transportation Department spokesperson said the review showed that "Delta's passengers received prompt refunds, adequate baggage assistance, and appropriate assistance for passengers with disabilities."
Under US President Donald Trump, USDOT has been moving to roll back some aviation consumer protection initiatives unveiled by the administration of then-President Joe Biden and has reversed a number of penalties.
Delta said in a statement it was grateful USDOT recognized "the catastrophic circumstances we faced as an industry during the unprecedented outage and its dismissal of the investigation, citing how we cared for customers, which included millions of dollars in refunds, hotels, food, and baggage assistance."
USDOT said its decision to close the probe included direction to Delta "to provide adequate customer service assistance, including timely notification of the right to seek a refund."
Politico was first on Monday to report the decision, which was made in November.
In December, USDOT waived an $11 million fine imposed on Southwest Airlines as part of a $140 million settlement over the carrier's meltdown in December 2022 during a busy holiday travel period.
The department also waived $16.7 million to American Airlines issued in 2024 as part of a settlement over the carrier's treatment of disabled passengers and wheelchairs.
Last month, Reuters reported that the Federal Aviation Administration closed its investigation into airlines that did not comply with required flight cuts at 40 major airports during the 2025 government shutdown without seeking any fines.
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