Delta Airlines Faces Class Action Lawsuit Over CrowdStrike Flight Delays

Class action seeks damages for travelers who Delta has failed to properly reimburse, after a computer outage caused widespread postponements and cancellations.

Delta Airlines customers have filed a class action lawsuit alleging that the company should be forced to refund or reimburse travelers following extended flight delays and cancellations that resulted from a massive Crowdstrike computer outage last month.

Around midnight on July 19, cybersecurity company Crowdstrike released a software update to its popular Falcon security platform, which contained a “logic error” that caused more than 8.5 million computers running Microsoft-operating platforms to fail over the course of the following day, impacting Delta Airlines and a number of other businesses.

As a result of the widespread computer outage, airlines had to resort to manual check-ins for customers, leading to cascading postponements and cancellations, which left travelers stranded and incurring substantial out-of-pocket damages.

While most companies were able to bring their systems back online within a few days, Delta Airlines was among the airlines hardest hit by the CrowdStrike flight delays. The company canceled more than 4,500 flights between July 19 and July 21, and another 1,250 flights on July 22, which accounted for nearly 70% of all canceled flights in the U.S. that day.

Although Delta claims normal operations resumed on July 25, some customers still experienced travel disruptions through July 31, nearly two weeks after the initial outage.

Delta has indicated that the computer outage affected the company’s ability to properly track crew members, which resulted in the airline being unable to schedule pilots and flight attendants for many of its planes.

As a result of Delta’s operational failures and the company’s unwillingness to refund or reimburse travelers for expenses they have incurred, a group of passengers filed a class action lawsuit against Delta Airlines (PDF) in the U.S. District Court Northern District of Georgia Atlanta Division on August 6, seeking damages for themselves and other travelers, who were forced to spend thousands of dollars on meals, lodging and other travel arrangements.

Delta’s Failures Led to Increased Delays and Cancellations

The complaint was brought by John Brennan, Arben Bajra, Asher Einhorn and Melanie Susman, alleging that Delta rejected repeated offers of assistance from Crowdstrike and Microsoft to help bring its computers back online in the days and weeks following the July 19 computer outage.

As a result, Delta canceled a total of 5,470 flights during the weekend of July 19 to 21 alone. That’s more cancellations in one weekend than all 5,370 of Delta’s flight cancellations in the years 2018 and 2019 combined.

Travelers spent thousands of dollars to book flights on other airlines, reserve rental cars or other ground transportation, and provide themselves with lodging and food, according to the lawsuit. In addition, some travelers were stranded far from home and did not have access to their luggage, which carried clothing and medications.

Although Delta has offered e-credits to some customers as a form of reimbursement, the lawsuit alleges that many were not informed of their right under federal law to receive full cash refunds for their flights.

“These unfair, unlawful, and unconscionable practices resulted in Delta unjustly enriching itself at the expense of its customers,” the complaint said.

Delta Customers Not Reimbursed for Expenses

Brennan indicates in the Delta lawsuit that he had plans to travel with his wife from Tampa, Florida to Seattle, Washington on July 20, where they would embark upon a cruise to celebrate their anniversary. When arriving at the airport, they were told their flight had been canceled. Delta rebooked the flight with a connection in Atlanta and checked the travelers’ baggage. However, upon arrival in Atlanta that connecting flight was canceled as well.

After waiting until 2:00 a.m. to speak with a Delta ticket agent, Brennan realized that all the agents had left for the night. He was told to return to the ticket desk at 6:00 a.m. the following morning. Brennan and his wife then realized they would miss the departure time for their cruise. They were stranded in Atlanta without their luggage, unable to rent a car and were forced to purchase Greyhound bus tickets to return to Tampa.

According to the lawsuit, Delta never provided Brennan with meal or hotel vouchers, and refused to issue an automatic refund for the ticket price. Instead, the company issued Brennan a $100 voucher to put toward a future Delta flight.

After filing a reimbursement request with Delta, Brennan indicates he was offered an additional $219.50 in compensation, far less than the $800 in out of pocket expenses, and $10,000 he had to forfeit from cost of the cruise tickets, which the lawsuit indicates were all lost due to Delta’s flight cancellations and delays.

Bajra, Einhorn and Susman each outlined similar travel problems on Delta due to the CrowdStrike flight delays and cancellations, which continued for days longer than they needed to.

“The impact [of the Crowdstrike outage] on Delta passengers was disastrous,” according to the complaint. “Delta’s failure to recover from the CrowdStrike outage left passengers stranded in airports across the country for days, in many cases thousands of miles from home.”

Flurry of Lawsuits Filed as Result of July 19 Computer Outage

In addition to the Delta Airlines lawsuit, an airline traveler class action lawsuit has also been filed directly against CrowdStrike, the cybersecurity firm whose software update led to the computer outage on July 19. These travelers are seeking damages for themselves and others forced to spend thousands of dollars on meals, lodging and additional travel arrangements, after flights on a variety of airlines were cancelled.

As a result of the flight cancelations, Delta has also threatened to file its own lawsuit against Crowdstrike, seeking to recover $500 million it claims was lost due to Crowdstrike’s computer failure.

In response to the potential Delta lawsuit, Crowdstrike released a statement through an outside lawyer, indicating that the company “strongly rejects any allegation that it was grossly negligent or committed misconduct.”

The U.S. Department of Transportation is also investigating why Delta took significantly longer than other companies affected by the Crowdstrike outage to bring its computers back online.