Delta Airlines is seeking compensation from Microsoft and CrowdStrike over the outage that disrupted thousands of flights across the world. Passengers sued Delta Air Lines for refusing to offer full refunds after last month’s massive computer outage. The lawsuit said the airline’s “unfair, unlawful, and unconscionable practices resulted in Delta unjustly enriching itself at the expense of its customers.” Delta declined to comment on the lawsuit, but has said passengers whose travel was disrupted can request and receive refunds.
The proposed class action was made public on Wednesday in Atlanta federal court, after the July 19 outage disrupted airlines, banks, hospitals, and emergency lines. Passengers accused Delta of breach of contract for failing to provide automatic refunds, and providing partial refunds only if they signed waivers against pursuing further legal claims. They also said Delta should compensate them for the cost and inconvenience of rebooking with other airlines, hotels, and food, and from being separated from their luggage.
One of the four plaintiffs, John Brennan of Florida, said he and his wife missed a $10,000 anniversary cruise after being stranded in Atlanta on a layover, but Delta offered just $219.45 in compensation. The lawsuit said the airline’s “unfair, unlawful, and unconscionable practices resulted in Delta unjustly enriching itself at the expense of its customers.” Delta declined to comment on the lawsuit, but has said passengers whose travel was disrupted can request and receive refunds, and seek compensation for incidental costs.
The outage stemmed from a flawed software update from the cybersecurity company CrowdStrike that crashed more than 8 million computers worldwide and affected many Microsoft customers. Disruptions subsided the next day for many U.S. carriers but persisted at Delta, leading to more than 6,000 cancellations. CrowdStrike, Microsoft, and Delta have since argued publicly over who is to blame and should pay the bills.
Delta Chief Executive Ed Bastian estimated on July 31 that the outage cost his Atlanta-based carrier about $500 million. Passengers filed a separate class action against CrowdStrike on Monday, also seeking damages. The Austin, Texas-based company has said it was neither grossly negligent nor at fault for Delta’s problems.
In conclusion, the fallout from the Delta Airlines outage caused by CrowdStrike’s flawed software update continues to unfold. Passengers are seeking compensation for the disruptions and inconvenience caused by the outage, while Delta, Microsoft, and CrowdStrike are embroiled in a public dispute over who is responsible for the financial losses incurred. The legal battle between the parties is ongoing, and the outcome remains uncertain as they seek to resolve the issue of compensation for the affected passengers.
