Delta Air Lines is under fire for allegedly misrepresenting the cause of a recent multi-day travel disruption that left thousands of flights canceled and multiple emergencies landings . Cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike , whose software was implicated in the outage, asserts that Delta's own technology issues were to blame, not their software.
Delta's CEO, Ed Bastian, has threatened to sue CrowdStrike for $500 million in lost revenue and additional costs. However, CrowdStrike’s lawyer, Michael Carlinsky, argues that the company’s liability should be under $10 million.
In a letter to Delta’s legal representative, David Boies, Carlinsky stated that the airline's threatened lawsuit perpetuates a misleading narrative that unfairly blames CrowdStrike for Delta’s IT failures. Carlinsky pointed out that other airlines recovered more swiftly from the outage, implying that Delta’s own IT issues played a significant role in the prolonged disruption.
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The outage, caused by a faulty CrowdStrike software update affecting over 8 million Microsoft Windows computers, impacted various sectors, including airlines, banks, and retailers. Delta, which relies heavily on Microsoft Windows, struggled to recover, unlike other airlines.
Bastian has publicly criticized CrowdStrike for not providing adequate assistance beyond free consulting advice. CrowdStrike, however, claims its CEO, George Kurtz, personally reached out to Bastian to offer support but received no response.
The U.S. Department of Transportation is now investigating why Delta's recovery lagged behind other airlines. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced that the department would also examine complaints about Delta’s customer service, including long wait times for assistance and reports of unaccompanied minors stranded at airports.
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