Delta CEO, Ed Bastian, arrived in Paris on Wednesday morning for the opening of the Olympics, amidst the airline's ongoing struggle to recover from a five-day meltdown. The unprecedented global tech outage that started last Friday caused Delta to cancel nearly 8,000 flights, leaving an estimated half-million customers stranded.

While the company expects minimal cancellations on Wednesday and normal service to resume on Thursday, it could still be days before all affected passengers are able to reach their destinations. The busy summer travel season and the limited availability of seats on flights have further complicated the situation, making it challenging to accommodate all affected travelers. Many customers are also still waiting for their luggage to be reunited with them.

Despite the ongoing recovery efforts, Delta announced that Bastian delayed his long-planned business trip to Paris until he was confident that the airline was firmly on the path to recovery. The company reassured that operations were returning to normal as of Wednesday morning and that Bastian remained fully engaged with senior operations leaders.

Contrary to some critics, Delta clarified that Bastian traveled to Paris on a Delta commercial flight and not a private jet. Delta serves as the official airline of the US Olympic Team and is responsible for flying athletes, coaches, and support staff to the games. It is expected that several CEOs of Olympic sponsors will attend at least part of the Olympics, although Delta has faced unique customer service challenges in the past week.

In an effort to resolve the situation, Delta has been requesting its employees, including its IT staff, to work extra hours. The airline's IT team has been tirelessly working around the clock to address the tech meltdown caused by a corrupted software update from cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike. The bug affected computer systems worldwide, but the impact on Delta's operations has been more severe and prolonged compared to other carriers.

Paris is a significant European destination for Delta, but Bastian anticipates that the Olympics will result in a counterintuitive loss of business for the airline. Despite the influx of American travelers visiting Paris for the games, many non-Olympic travelers are staying away, leading to lower travel volumes than expected. Bastian estimates that the Olympics will cost Delta approximately $100 million in lost revenue.

As Delta continues its recovery efforts, passengers affected by the cancellations and disruptions remain hopeful for swift resolution and a return to normalcy. The airline, along with its dedicated employees, is working diligently to improve operations and ensure a smooth travel experience for all passengers.