Delta suffered a $380 million revenue loss due to the chaos behind the CrowdStrike outage

Delta Air Lines revealed this Thursday that last month's severe tech outage, involving CrowdStrike and Microsoft, has hit the airline hard, costing it a staggering $550 million. The disruption, which led to nearly 7,000 flight cancellations, had far-reaching consequences for the Atlanta-based carrier.

In a detailed securities filing, Delta explained that $380 million of the loss stemmed from refunded tickets and compensation for stranded customers, who received both cash and SkyMiles. Additionally, the company faced $170 million in expenses related to the technological failure and its aftermath. However, the silver lining was a $50 million reduction in fuel costs due to the canceled flights.

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The incident on July 19 hit Delta particularly hard compared to its competitors, disrupting travel during the peak summer season. The airline, known for its reliability and premium service, was forced to cancel more flights in those few days than it did in all of 2019. CEO Ed Bastian expressed frustration, stating, "An operational disruption of this length and magnitude is unacceptable. Our customers and employees deserve better."

Delta's cancellation crisis is now being scrutinized by the U.S. Department of Transportation, which is investigating the airline's handling of the situation.

In response, CrowdStrike has resisted Delta's claims, accusing the airline of misrepresenting the facts. The cybersecurity firm asserts that its chief security officer was in close contact with Delta's information security team shortly after the incident, offering support and information.

Microsoft, meanwhile, has suggested that Delta might not have invested enough in its technology infrastructure compared to its peers.

Delta's lawyer, David Boies, argued that the outage impacted 1.3 million customers and disabled 37,000 of Delta's computers. He emphasized that CrowdStrike and Microsoft's responsibility for the disruption must be acknowledged and that Delta deserves compensation for the extensive damage to its business and reputation.