Trump Blames Delta For Airport Delays
DALLAS (AP) — Delta Air Lines, recovering from a weekend technology outage, cancelled more flights Monday but said that the issue has been resolved.
By early Monday, 110 flights had been canceled and the airline said more may follow. Delta canceled about 170 flights Sunday night after the outage prevented some departures.
President Donald Trump blamed Delta for weekend problems at many airports, where large protests were held to oppose his executive order that temporarily banned travel to the U.S. by refugees and citizens of seven majority-Muslim countries. Federal judges blocked part of the order.
Trump tweeted early Monday morning that only 109 people were detained for questioning under the order, out of 325,000 coming to the U.S.
"Big problems at airports were caused by Delta computer outage," he tweeted.
Delta officials did not immediately comment on the president's tweet.
Just two weeks ago, Delta CEO Ed Bastian was celebrating the new Trump administration, saying that he was "very excited" about the possibility that the new administration might invest in upgrading airport facilities, reduce taxes and cut regulations.
Bastian also expressed hope that Trump might give a new airing to complaints by Delta, American Airlines and United Airlines that Middle Eastern competitors receive unfair government subsidies.
Bastian apologized Sunday evening on the company's website to customers affected by the "frustrating situation."
Delta offered to let passengers booked on flights Monday to delay travel plans for a few days without incurring the usual fee — $200 for domestic flights — for changing a ticket. The airline also declined to carry unaccompanied minors until midday while it recovered from the outage.
In August, Delta suffered a computer breakdown after a power outage in its operations center. The airline canceled more than 2,000 flights over three days and said the outage cost it $100 million.
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