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Delta Air Lines says its operations are getting back on track, signaling a possible end to a multi-day meltdown that saw the carrier cancel more than 5,000 flights after an IT outage on Friday.

inside letter As for customers, CEO Ed Bastin said he expects disruptions on Wednesday to be “minimal” and that the airline will be “fully recovered” as a “normal day” for Thursday.

That’s welcome news after a few days of chaos at Delta’s global operations, particularly at its hubs.

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The five-day fiasco affected hundreds of thousands of commuters, the US Department of Transportation estimates, many of them stranded, frustrated and sometimes unsure of the best – or affordable – way to get to their destination.

The first major meltdown of a US airline in 2024, the disruptions have drawn scrutiny from lawmakers on Capitol Hill and the US Department of Transportation, which on Tuesday announced an investigation into the Atlanta-based carrier’s response.

Cancellation tends downwards

As of 9 a.m. Wednesday, Delta had canceled 47 flights, about 1% of its operations.

That’s a sharp improvement from a cancellation rate that regularly topped 30% between Friday and Monday, when Delta canceled at least 1,100 flights per day — before cancellations dropped to just over 500, per FlightAware.

Delta was one of several US airlines A flawed update from cybersecurity firm CrowdStrikewhich affected Windows systems worldwide.

But even after other carriers recovered, Delta’s cancellations continued. The carrier cited particular problems resynchronizing its crew-scheduling software, a critical program that gets pilots, flight attendants and aircraft to the right places.

“While our initial efforts to stabilize operations were difficult and frustratingly slow and complicated, we have made good progress this week, and the worst effects of the outage caused by the crowdstrike are behind us,” Bastin wrote in his letter Wednesday morning.

Lawmakers responded to the question

But Delta will face no shortage of questions in the coming weeks.

Congressional leaders are also demanding answers about the carrier’s response, on top of an investigation announced Tuesday by the DOT’s Office of Aviation Consumer Protections.

“While the technology outage was clearly not caused by Delta or any airline, I am concerned that Delta has failed to meet this moment,” Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA), chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, wrote in a letter. A response from Bastian is called for by Tuesday, July 30.

Related: What to do if your flight is canceled or delayed

How Delta responds

For its part, Delta says it has provided meals, hotel accommodations and ground transportation to stranded passengers, according to its assurances in the DOT’s Airline Customer Service. dashboard.

It is also, Bastian said, providing travel vouchers and SkyMiles to affected passengers “as a further sign of forgiveness.”

An affected TPG reader shared that he received 12,500 SkyMiles as per the letter from Delta. That’s a value of about $143 per TPG’s points and miles valuation.

Others caught up in the meltdown this past weekend got 10,000 miles for their trouble — about $115, per our estimate.

The airline is also accepting refund requests from eligible passengers at delta.com/refund.

RELATED: What to Do If You’re Stranded by Delta’s Meltdown

Under DOT policy, passengers whose flights are canceled or significantly delayed are entitled to a return to the original form of payment, for the unused portion of their ticket, if they do not accept rebooking and choose not to travel.

Meanwhile, Delta says it is “making progress” working through the many misplaced bags, and using its delivery partners to reunite customers with baggage, the carrier shared Tuesday evening.

In the meantime, operations appear to be getting back on track, with cancellation rates down and Delta “working around the clock to accommodate planes and people,” said the airline’s head of technical operations.

However, there are questions as to whether consumers will generally view a stellar reputation differently to an airline’s operational reliability.

“I have received emails from many of you who are understandably frustrated with the pace of progress and the difficulty in getting the service you deserve,” Bastin wrote in Wednesday’s letter. “To our customers who were affected, I would like to thank you for your patience and apologize again for the disruption to your travel.”

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