Delta Air Lines leaves children alone – and families in despair

After a global technical failure on Friday, Delta Air Lines announced at short notice that unaccompanied minors are no longer allowed to travel without a guardian until further notice. This measure stranded numerous children at airports in various states or even countries, causing families to panic. Scott Darling reported a frustrating experience when his 17-year-old son Asher was denied check-in because he was flying without a guardian. Despite having traveled without issues before, this restriction came as a surprise to many. Following the global technical failure, which affected Microsoft worldwide and grounded airlines' flights, Delta implemented the changed policies. The sudden suspension of travel for unaccompanied minors put some families under stress, prompting them to book last-minute flights with other airlines or arrange transportation themselves. Long-term customer loyalty to Delta is likely to have been damaged by these events. Delta, one of the last American airlines to restore operations, canceled more than 1,000 flights per day between Friday and Monday. By early Tuesday another 400 flights were canceled, according to FlightAware. In an email, Delta explained that the measure was intended to protect children who might be separated from their families due to disruptions or outages. However, this explanation brought little comfort to many parents. Patricia Starek from Brooklyn, for example, was severely troubled when she learned that her 12-year-old son Ellis would be stuck in Colorado for three days longer than planned, and she spent hours in the customer service loop. Ellis eventually flew back with JetBlue for about $650, but the stress and sleepless nights were hard for Ms. Starek to compensate. Jason Hewlett from Utah experienced similar chaos; his son Redford flew from Montreal to Saint George, Utah, via detours and ultimately spent hours in various means of transportation. For many parents, the lack of communication from Delta was additionally frustrating. Even for elite Diamond Medallion customers like the Hewlett family, obtaining information was difficult. Asher Darling also fell victim to the confusion as his parents organized multiple flights and transportation options to get him safely to his destination. "It was stated that this regulation was introduced for Asher's safety," Darling remarked. "The reality was that it exposed him to even more danger." These measures have shaken the trust of many parents in Delta, and the airline will need to work hard to restore this trust.