Delta Air Lines Executive Quits Weeks After CrowdStrike Fiasco

Delta Air Lines announced the departure of Michael Spanos, its executive vice president and chief operating officer, effective August 31. The announcement was made through a Securities and Exchange Commission filing on Thursday. Spanos, who has been with Delta for just over a year, previously held positions at PepsiCo and was the CEO of Six Flags Entertainment. His exit comes in the wake of a significant disruption caused by a faulty security software update from cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike in July. This incident resulted in global outages that affected approximately 8.5 million Microsoft Windows users, leading to the cancellation of hundreds of Delta flights over several days. The Department of Transportation (DOT) has since launched an investigation into the airline's response to the crisis. DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg has urged airlines, including Delta, to ensure that passengers are refunded for canceled flights. He emphasized that travelers are entitled to refunds if their flights are canceled or significantly altered, unless they accept alternative arrangements. Delta has stated that it is cooperating with federal regulators and is focused on restoring its operations and addressing customer concerns. While the filing did not specify the reasons for Spanos's departure, it noted that he would receive severance benefits. A Delta spokesperson indicated that Spanos's decision to leave was made prior to the cybersecurity incident. The Epoch Times reached out to Delta for further comments but did not receive a response by the time of publication.