Delta Air Lines’ chief operating officer will leave the airline

Delta Air Lines on Friday said that Mike Spanos, its chief operating officer, will depart the airline for a new job at the end of August.

In a memo to staff viewed by TPG, airline CEO Ed Bastian said that Spanos had said earlier this summer that he was exploring another opportunity.

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The departure comes just weeks after Delta canceled more than 7,000 flights amid a major technology outage that affected airlines across the world, including rivals American Airlines and United Airlines. Unlike the other carriers, Delta struggled to get back on track after the outage was fixed and continued canceling flights for several days. The airline said it used the affected system, CrowdStrike, in more of its internal systems and processes than the other carriers.

A Delta spokesperson said Spanos had begun discussing an exit prior to the July tech meltdown. He had been in the role since 2023 and did not have previous aviation industry experience. According to a document filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday morning, Spanos will receive benefits under the airline’s severance plan for officers and directors.

Bastian previously told The Wall Street Journal, which first reported Spanos’ departure, that despite his role as head of operations, Spanos was not the one who led Delta’s response to the outages.

“He wasn’t the person that we were relying on to make the decisions,” Bastian told The Wall Street Journal in an interview earlier this month, noting Spanos’ “newness to the industry.”

Delta does not plan to replace Spanos, Bastian said in Friday’s memo. Instead, two senior leaders who previously reported to Spanos will report directly to the CEO: John Laughter, who oversees various operational areas like flights, maintenance and pilot staffing, and Allison Ausband, the airline’s head of customer experience.

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