Who's at Fault? Delta Files Lawsuit Against CrowdStrike

DALLAS — Delta Air Lines (DL) has filed a lawsuit against cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, claiming that an untested and flawed software update caused the global service disruption that substantially hampered DL's operations. 

The complaint, filed in Georgia's Fulton County Superior Court, calls the software upgrade "catastrophic," claiming that it crashed over 8.5 million Windows systems globally, resulting in the cancelation of 7,000 DL flights and affecting 1.3 million passengers. 

Delta estimates more than US$500 million in financial losses, including out-of-pocket expenses, lost income, legal expenditures, and reputational injury.

The incident, which occurred on July 19, caused extensive disruptions that affected the airline industry and banking, healthcare, media, and hospitality. The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has since launched an investigation into the situation.

CrowdStrike has contested DL's assertions, calling them "misinformation" and claiming that the airline's IT infrastructure was obsolete, contributing to the extended service disruption. The software company defended itself by pointing out that other carriers using the software update were less affected, calling DL's preparedness and resilience into doubt. 

On the other hand, DL claimed that it had made significant expenditures in modern technology solutions for its IT infrastructure and that CrowdStrike's update was the underlying cause of the outage and subsequent operational and financial failures.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out, as DL was the only airline affected by the outage for more than a few hours. Furthermore, CrowdStrike said it sought to assist, but alleged that DL denied said assistance.

That DL’s own internal IT system may not be up to standard like that of Southwest Airlines (WN) after its 2022 holiday meltdown reminds us of how that December served as a technological wake-up call for the Dallas-based airline to update its systems.

At the time, WN Shareholders filed a lawsuit seeking class-action status against WN and several members of its management due to the airline's holiday meltdown. The software used by WN was alleged to be from the 1990s.

According to the complaint, the executives "ignored the substantial risk that having out-of-date technology posed to" the company's business. According to the lawsuit, WN is particularly vulnerable to interruptions because of its distinctive point-to-point route structure, the fact that it permits more nonstop routes than other airlines, and its aggressive flight schedule. 

The complaint used a June 2020 computer error that led to nationwide airline delays as a premonition of the terrible Christmas season that ended on December 31, 2022.

Beginning on December 22, 2022, WN canceled tens of thousands of flights because of a storm that caused travel chaos nationwide. The airline kept canceling up to 60% of its flights during one of the busiest travel weeks of the year as its scheduling system failed. In contrast, other airlines resumed regular operations as the severe weather subsided. Sound familiar?