US closes probe into 2024 Delta Air Lines meltdown

The Trump administration has closed an investigation, without seeking any penalties, into a July 2024 meltdown at Delta Air Lines sparked by a global outage that disrupted the travel plans ‌of 1.3 million customers and cost the ‌carrier US$500 ‌million ($707 million).

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.

A US Transportation Department (USDOT) 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 recognised "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 US$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 US$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.