ATLANTA — A massive IT outage causing flight delays has affected Atlanta’s airline the most. Delta Airlines is under intense scrutiny by travelers and is now under investigation by the Department of Transportation on the fifth day of issues.
While the setback leaves hundreds stranded and far from home, a family of five who just made it back to the States from Paris is among the most affected.
“We’ve been here since Friday. We have three little ones and Delta hasn’t helped with a hotel voucher, transportation, nothing,” Fatima Johnson said.
She and her family had been enjoying a vacation away for her birthday abroad. On their flight home Friday, family members and friends warned them about the CrowdStrike outage that was causing delays to flights, but it was already too late.
“They were telling us to extend our trip if we could, but we were already just three hours away from Atlanta,” Johnson said.
Since then, she and her husband have been surrounded by chaos. While trying to get home to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, two cancellations left them stuck in the city miles from home. They met 11Alive’s Angelina Salcedo outside their hotel in Roswell to talk about their journey.
“The second cancellation was too much, and we had seats. I even took screenshots, so I had the proof. We got here Monday and had just been dropped off only to find out our flight had been cancelled and Delta sent me an email about it,” Johnson said.
The soonest they could be rebooked was Wednesday, but that flight wouldn’t get them home. The agents at the counter tried to get them hotel vouchers and accommodations, but the system was still down. They were told they would have to foot the bill and try to get a refund later.
“Try is the key word here. You’re basically saying I’m not going to get my money back,” Fatima said, frustrated. She walked us through her encounter at the airport when they rebooked the family on another flight: “‘We’re going to get you to Omaha, but for you to get to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, you have to rent a car, pay for that, and we’re not going to reimburse you.’ That’s what they said.”
Their trip to Paris was overshadowed by the setback of their preferred airline. Their options were to go back to Paris and fly abroad, try another airline at the expense of more than $4,000, or just stay in Atlanta and pay for hotels and transportation on their own.
“Plus, we’re missing out on work and everything back home! We’re suffering and our kids are suffering and Delta is doing nothing,” Johnson said.
In an exclusive one-on-one interview with Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, 11Alive learned that the family is entitled to the reimbursements and accommodations Delta hasn’t provided them.
“Their expenses should absolutely be covered in terms of things like ground transportation and hotels. Also if anytime your flight is canceled you don't take the rebooking, you're entitled to a cash refund, and that is something else that we enforce. If the airline is not holding up its responsibilities, I would encourage that family, or any family, to go to our website, flightwrights.gov. That has not just information about your rights, but also a way to report to us if an airline is not doing what they need to do. We’ll hold them accountable,” Buttigieg said.
The Secretary said he’s heard stories about people waiting in line with more than 100 people just to talk to one customer service agent and people sleeping on floors in airports. He said that’s why Delta is now under investigation.
“Delta projected that things would be back to normal by today. They're not, which is part of why we're launching this investigation, obviously hoping and expecting that they resolve this quickly, because it's already gone on too long. They seem to be having problems that none of the other airlines are having in terms of the cancelations and delays that are still going on, even now after about five days,” Buttigieg said.
He emphasized that this was the most ‘widespread and intense’ meltdown the department had seen since Southwest Airlines about a year and a half ago.
“One of the things that this has in common with that situation is there was something that affected everybody. In that case, it was a Winter storm, but then when all of the other airlines recovered, one airline had a different set of problems, and of course, that was Southwest. We ultimately investigated Southwest and arrived at the conclusion that there were many violations, which led to a record enforcement action of $140 million. I can't yet say where this investigation will lead, but I will say that we have sought to launch a new era in terms of passenger protections, and we're going to follow through on that high standard when it comes to dealing with this situation,” Buttigieg said.
As people wait for answers and flights to get back on time, the Johnsons just want to get back home.
“My preferred airline is Delta and for them to be so weak it’s a shame. At this point we’re ready to get back to work and my kids are ready to go home,” Johnson said.
They’ll try to fly out of Hartsfield Jackson International Airport Wednesday around 12 and then rent a car in Omaha, Nebraska, to drive the two hours back home. Their story a reminder that travelers have protections their entitled to. If you have any pushback from your airline, the Department of Transportation urges you to reach out here.