Delta passengers file class-action lawsuit against the airline over a tech outage linked to CrowdStrike

Delta Air Lines announced on Thursday that last month's CrowdStrike outage and ensuing major flight cancellations cost it $550 million, and it maintained that it is pursuing legal action against both the company and Microsoft.

Delta canceled more than 1,250 flights on July 22, more than any other airline and accounting for about 70% of all flights within, into, and out of the United States, according to flight-tracking website FlightAware. Delta CEO Ed Bastian said in a memo that the airline's efforts to restore operations "were difficult, frustratingly slow, and complex." Delta's pandemonium lasted six days following the interruption, although other airlines resumed normal operations within a few days.

“An operational disruption of this length and magnitude is unacceptable, and our customers and employees deserve better,” CEO Ed Bastian said in the filing. “Since the incident, our people have returned the operation to an industry-leading position that is consistent with the level of performance our customers expect from Delta.”

Sauder Schelkopf and Webb, Klase & Lemond filed a complaint on behalf of Delta passengers who had their flights canceled, alleging that "no other U.S. airline had canceled one-tenth as many flights."

It also says Delta failed to adequately compensate passengers for the scheduling issues by providing automatic reimbursements for canceled flights. According to the lawsuit filed Tuesday in a district court in Atlanta, the airline only issued partial compensation and forced passengers to sign releases freeing Delta of all legal claims against it.

"While nearly every other airline recovered quickly from the July 19th 'Tech Outage,' Delta's passengers remained stranded, waiting in lines for days trying to get to their destinations. When our clients sought refunds, Delta again failed to deliver. We look forward to litigating the case on their behalf," Joe Sauder of Sauder Schelkopf, an attorney for the passengers, said in a statement.