Delta's chief operations officer leaving after a year on the job.

• At the end of the month, COO Mike Spanos will depart for another job, as announced by Delta.
• In May 2023, Spanos joined Delta as operations chief after previously holding leadership positions at Six Flags and Pepsi.
• Despite Delta's meltdown due to a massive CrowdStrike outage, Spanos had informed CEO Ed Bastian earlier in the summer that he was considering other opportunities outside of the airline.

The company announced in a securities filing on Friday that its chief operating officer will depart at the end of the month.

In a memo to employees, CEO Ed Bastian announced that Chief Operations Officer Mike Spanos has accepted a position at another company.

Delta's meltdown in July, which resulted in a massive outage, led to his departure after just over a year on the job. The airline estimates that the disruptions cost them $500 million and they plan to seek compensation from CrowdStrike and others.

On Friday, Bastian stated that Spanos had informed him earlier in the summer that he was "exploring possibilities beyond Delta."

Instead of replacing Spanos, Delta has decided to have John Laughter, the chief of operations and president of Delta's TechOps maintenance-and-overhaul unit, and Allison Ausband, chief customer experience officer, report to Bastian.

In May 2023, Spanos joined Delta and had previously held the CEO position at Entertainment and executive roles at other companies.