Delta Loses $550 Million Due to CrowdStrike Outage

Delta Air Lines announced on Thursday that the recent CrowdStrike outage, which led to the cancellation of approximately 7,000 flights, has resulted in a financial loss of around $550 million. The airline reported a $380 million revenue decline for the current quarter, primarily due to customer refunds and compensation in cash and SkyMiles. Additionally, Delta incurred $170 million in expenses related to the operational recovery from the technology-driven outage, although it noted a potential $50 million reduction in fuel costs due to the canceled flights. The July 19 incident, which affected millions of Windows-based machines globally, posed significant challenges for Delta, making its recovery more difficult compared to competitors. CEO Ed Bastian expressed dissatisfaction with the disruption, stating, “An operational disruption of this length and magnitude is unacceptable.” He emphasized that Delta has since restored its operations to a level that meets customer expectations. In response to the incident, Delta is pursuing legal action against both CrowdStrike and Microsoft to recover its losses. The U.S. Department of Transportation is also investigating Delta's handling of the situation. CrowdStrike has countered Delta's claims, asserting that they provided timely support and communication during the crisis. Delta's legal counsel highlighted that the outage affected 1.3 million customers and shut down 37,000 Delta computers, underscoring the extensive impact of the incident on the airline's operations.