Microsoft has accused Delta Air Lines of failing to update its technology after the airline canceled thousands of flights due to last month’s global IT outage. Delta CEO Ed Bastian told CNBC that Delta intends to seek damages from Microsoft and CrowdStrike, blaming the companies for disruptions that cost Delta an estimated $500 million.
Following the July 19 incident, which was triggered by a flawed software update from CrowdStrike affecting millions of Microsoft Windows computers, Delta struggled more than its competitors, canceling over 5,000 flights. Microsoft, represented by Dechert partner Mark Cheffo, wrote to Delta’s attorney, David Boies, questioning why other airlines recovered faster than Delta.
Cheffo’s letter suggested that Delta had not modernized its IT infrastructure for its customers and staff like other airlines had. Delta responded by highlighting its investments of billions of dollars in IT since 2016, both in capital expenditures and operating costs.
In a previous letter, Boies accused Microsoft of failing to meet contractual obligations and acting negligently regarding the CrowdStrike update that caused the system crash. Cheffo’s reply dismissed these claims as incomplete and misleading, pointing out that Microsoft had offered Delta assistance, which was declined.
CrowdStrike also rejected Delta’s accusations, with Microsoft asserting that Delta didn’t utilize offered support, as evidenced by communications where a Delta employee expressed satisfaction with the situation.
Microsoft highlighted that Delta’s outages primarily affected systems not running on Windows or Azure but on technology from IBM and Amazon. Microsoft has requested Delta to preserve records of how technologies from these providers contributed to the problems experienced during the outage period.
In his CNBC interview, Bastian stressed the importance of reliability, stating that vendors with access to Delta’s systems must ensure bug-free operations in their critical 24/7 environment.
Source: CNBC
