I called Delta Airlines to task previously when a flight attendant mistreated a passenger wearing a Til Vahalla Project t-shirt that read “Do Not Give In To the War Within. End Veteran Suicide.” If interested, refer to my Blog 1:12 from 2024, “Delta Airlines Needs Common Sense Lessons,” for my complete comments. 

So, it is only right that I give Delta a thumbs-up and tip of the hat for how the airline handled a recent challenge related to severe weather and associated flight cancellations.

The weather is beyond our control. No surprise there. If it wasn’t, there would be no rainy picnics, parades, days at the beach, concerts, or sporting events. There would be no bad weather resulting in cancelled flights, and everyone would reach their destinations on-time. If only…right?

When strong storms hit Atlanta over the June 28-29, 2025, weekend, Delta was forced to cancel nearly 1,000 flights. Flight cancellations create unhappy travelers not afraid to badmouth the airlines on social media and disparage the carriers’ images and reputations, and disgruntled passengers vowing to choose other airlines in the future. Bad for business, certainly.

Safety, of course, is the number one concern. Better to arrive late than to never arrive at all. These particular storms in Atlanta were so severe with blinding rain, hail, and lightning that the air traffic control tower had to be evacuated. According to the FAA, poor weather is the reason for nearly three-quarters of flight cancellations in the United States, and the majority of cancellations are due to thunderstorms.

Consider how Delta communicated and handled the challenge. First, the airline posted a statement on its website to explain the severe weather situation and what the company was doing to help its stranded passengers. Delta shared detailed information about the dangerous weather and then offered an apology – even though Delta did not create the severe storms.

“On behalf of Delta’s 100,000 people who are working to restore our operations to its hallmark reliability, I am sorry for the inconvenience and uncertainty this event has caused,” wrote Delta Chief Customer Experience Officer Erik Snell. “We sincerely appreciate your patience as we restore operations.”¹

There is an important lesson here for anyone handling such a challenging situation. Taking responsibility – even when you are not really responsible – and sincerely apologizing will best position you to be successful in your customer and public recovery efforts. I would have stayed away from using the word “hallmark” to describe Delta’s reliability; too self-serving in the midst of the crisis itself. But I give the airline credit for having its statement come from an actual person (Mr. Snell) and also for its follow-up steps.

An article, The Scoop: Delta tries to make it right after nearly 1,000 flights canceled, by Allison Carter reported: “They (Delta) made it clear, both internally and externally, that even though they did not cause the storm, they would be responsible for the costs associated with it.”² Such costs include ticket reimbursement for those unable to travel on another Delta flight, as well as the costs associated with hotels, rental cars, and more.

That is putting your money where your mouth is; and doing right by those affected is the proper way to not only satisfy dissatisfied customers but also maintain and enhance your image and reputation moving forward.

“At least from a communications standpoint, Delta did all it could to reassure passengers, give employees strong guidance on their response and do what they could to make things right,” concluded Ms. Carter.³

Good on Delta for that.

REMEMBER…

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1. Delta Airlines Website. https://news.delta.com/delta-focused-customer-care-operational-recovery-following-atl-storms ↩︎
2.  Carter, Allison; “The Scoop: Delta tries to make it right after nearly 1,000 flights canceled,” Ragan PR Daily. https://www.prdaily.com/the-scoop-delta-tries-to-make-it-right-after-nearly-1000-flights-canceled/ ↩︎
3. Carter, Allison; “The Scoop: Delta tries to make it right after nearly 1,000 flights canceled,” Ragan PR Daily. https://www.prdaily.com/the-scoop-delta-tries-to-make-it-right-after-nearly-1000-flights-canceled/ ↩︎