Delta Air Lines Blames Microsoft and CrowdStrike for IT Outage

Delta Air Lines has publicly accused Microsoft and CrowdStrike of contributing to a significant IT outage that the airline estimates has cost it around $500 million. CEO Ed Bastian informed staff that Delta is pursuing legal action against both companies to recover losses incurred from lost revenue and expenses related to compensating displaced passengers. Bastian described the situation as dire, stating that Delta's systems were rendered inoperable, necessitating manual intervention to restore operations. In response, Microsoft has denied responsibility for the outage, asserting that its software did not cause the incident involving CrowdStrike. Mark S. Cheffo, a lawyer for Microsoft, indicated that the company offered assistance to Delta at no charge, but claimed that Delta declined help because the affected crew-tracking system was managed by other technology providers, not Microsoft. This assertion highlights the complexity of the situation and the involvement of multiple technology partners. CrowdStrike has also defended itself, with its legal representatives arguing that Delta's threat of litigation has created a misleading narrative regarding the company's role in the outage. They emphasized that Delta had refused onsite assistance from CrowdStrike, which could have potentially mitigated the impact of the incident. Both Microsoft and CrowdStrike have refrained from further comments beyond their initial letters. Meanwhile, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has stated that the department will utilize its investigative powers to ensure that the rights of Delta's passengers are upheld in light of the incident.