Delta CEO Says Outage Cost $500M, Leaving Airline 'No Choice' But to Seek Damages

The Microsoft (MSFT) outage that stemmed from an update to CrowdStrike's (CRWD) information package and ground thousands of flights costs Delta Air Lines (DAL) astatine slightest $500 cardinal complete nan people of 5 days, CEO Ed Bastian told CNBC Wednesday.

Bastian said nan effect wasn't conscionable mislaid gross from having to refund tickets for canceled flights but "tens of millions of dollar per day" spent connected edifice accommodations and different compensation for its affected customers. He said nan institution has "no choice" but to activity damages.

Delta Was Hardest Hit Major U.S. Airline

CrowdStrike banal sank Tuesday connected the study that Delta has hired a high-profile lawyer to prosecute compensation for its losses. Bastian told CNBC that CrowdStrike has offered free consultation services to thief nan hose retrieve from nan outage, but thing beyond that.

Delta was nan hardest hit of nan awesome U.S. airlines because of their reliance connected Microsoft package for a strategy that schedules their formation crews, making Delta's thousands of canceled flights difficult to reschedule because of nan uncertainty that a afloat unit would beryllium capable to beryllium arranged.

"If you're going to beryllium having privilege entree to nan Delta ecosystem successful position of exertion you've sewage to trial this stuff," Bastian said. "You can't travel into a ngo critical, 24/7 cognition and show america we person a bug. It doesn't work."

DOT Probing Delta's Response to Outage

The Department of Transportation is also probing Delta's response to nan outage to analyse whether nan hose adequately protected its customers during nan outage crisis. Southwest Airlines (LUV) faced a $140 cardinal civilian punishment complete its handling of a 2022 wintertime storm that caused astir 17,000 flights to beryllium canceled aft nan DOT wished Southwest didn't travel user protection laws.

Delta won't beryllium unsocial successful pursuing damages from CrowdStrike, arsenic nan first people action suit against nan tech institution was revenge Tuesday. The Plymouth County Retirement Association filed suit connected behalf of CrowdStrike shareholders, who nan relation claims were harmed by CrowdStrike's claims that its package was tested and secure, erstwhile successful reality a mini correction could lead to a important outage that could impact that company's banal price.