The fallout continues from July's tech meltdown that saw Delta Air Lines cancelling over 6,500 flights, with the airline and cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike locked in a standoff regarding responsibility and potential compensation. Delta's CEO Ed Bastian has put a price tag on the disruption at "half a billion dollars in five days," a figure that includes daily costs running into the tens of millions for compensation and accommodations for stranded passengers, as reported by FOX Business.
A source confirmed that Delta has retained the services of high-profile attorney David Boies to potentially seek damages from CrowdStrike, and Microsoft – whose software update contributed to the outage. "We’re not looking to wipe them out, but we’re looking to make certain that we get compensated however they decide to for what they cost us," Bastian insisted during a CNBC interview. Rapidly responding, CrowdStrike has refuted Delta's narrative by claiming the airline ignored its offers of assistance during the service breakdown and countered that in any litigation, Delta would need to explain its own IT inconsistencies. According to a letter from CrowdStrike cited by CNN, the cybersecurity giant was "highly disappointed by Delta’s suggestion that CrowdStrike acted inappropriately and strongly rejects any allegation that it was grossly negligent or committed willful misconduct."
Discrepancies in recovery times among airlines have also come under scrutiny, with Delta notably lagging in restoring operations while other carriers were back on schedule significantly quicker. The issue caught the attention of the U.S. Department of Transportation, which is currently investigating why Delta failed to rebound swiftly and is also placing Delta’s customer service under the microscope, particularly in response to issues like long wait times for assistance and stranded unaccompanied minors. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg vowed to make this a "big focus of our investigation" after hearing passengers had to endure up to 8-hour lines and even sleep on airport floors.
Despite Delta's accusations, CrowdStrike has stood its ground, indicating a willingness to defend itself and its stakeholders should litigation occur as mentioned in the letter stating, "CrowdStrike will respond aggressively, if forced to do so, in order to protect its shareholders, employees, and other stakeholders." They did not shy away from noting that their liabilities are contractually limited to amounts in the single millions. As of now, Delta has not filed the lawsuit and directed questions to Bastian's previous statements on CNBC, where he emphasized the need to protect the airline's shareholders, customers, and employees from not just financial but also reputational damage.
