The Trump administration has dropped a Biden-era investigation into Delta Air Lines’ handling of a worldwide computer outage in 2024, which had prompted the carrier to cancel thousands of flights.
A DOT spokesperson earlier this month told POLITICO that the department had closed its probe, which then-Secretary Pete Buttigieg launched nearly two years ago.
A widespread technology crash in July 2024 caused by a faulty software update from CrowdStrike, a cybersecurity provider, led to a travel meltdown at Delta. The airline struggled for days to recover from the glitch.
The DOT spokesperson said in a statement that Delta “ensured passengers received prompt refunds and baggage assistance.” In a follow-up email, the department said it determined that “enforcement was not warranted” based on the carrier’s efforts.
In a statement, Delta spokesperson Lisa Hanna said the airline is grateful to DOT for “recognizing 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.”
CrowdStrike didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Hanna in a follow-up email said the probe ended on or about Nov. 4, 2025. In its written remarks to POLITICO, DOT didn’t say exactly when it closed the inquiry.
The department spokesperson said DOT decided that enforcement wasn’t needed following a review directed by a February 2025 executive order from President Donald Trump. That edict instructed agencies to begin the process of nixing or modifying a swath of regulations, including those that “impose significant costs upon private parties that are not outweighed by public benefits.”
In June 2025, DOT had told POLITICO that the matter remained open, and the department was “continuing to review materials related to this incident.”
The bungled software update has sparked a court battle between Delta and CrowdStrike, which remains ongoing in Georgia.
In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, Delta previously said the outage caused about 7,000 flight cancellations over five days, with CEO Ed Bastian adding that damages totaled at least $500 million.
Delta faces a federal class-action complaint brought by several customers over the situation. The plaintiffs allege that the airline didn’t provide them with adequate refunds or reimbursements for delays or cancellations. The carrier’s motion to dismiss is pending.
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