Tech outage ensnarls Delta, prompts hearings

The airline is under federal investigation for its handling of flight cancellations that stranded hundreds of passengers

Delta customers wait in line for new flights after tech outage canceled thousands of flights
The airline canceled more than 5,500 flights following a technology outage caused by CrowdStrike
(Image credit: Jessica McGowan / Getty Images)

What happened

Delta Air Lines canceled more than 800 flights on Monday, struggling to recover from a worldwide technology outage even as most other airlines and affected companies largely resumed normal operations. The outage started Friday when cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike released a faulty update for Microsoft Windows devices, sparking global mayhem at airlines, hospitals, logistics companies and other institutions. Delta was hit especially hard, canceling more than 5,500 flights total.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.