Microsoft has strongly rebutted claims by Delta Air Lines that it was responsible for the airline’s substantial flight cancellations following last month’s global IT outage.
The dispute centers around a botched software update from CrowdStrike that led to extensive disruptions for Delta, which has blamed Microsoft for part of the fallout.
Delta CEO Ed Bastian stated last week that the airline, which prides itself on reliability, would seek damages from Microsoft and CrowdStrike due to the outage, which cost the airline approximately $500 million. The outage resulted in over 5,000 flight cancellations starting July 19, a scenario exacerbated by the faulty CrowdStrike update that affected millions of Windows computers.
Microsoft Denies Responsibility
In response, Microsoft’s attorney, Mark Cheffo, sent a letter to Delta’s lawyer, David Boies, asserting that the airline had declined Microsoft’s repeated offers to help mitigate the crisis. According to Cheffo, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella emailed Delta CEO Ed Bastian, but received no reply. Cheffo’s letter described Bastian’s public remarks as “incomplete, false, misleading, and damaging to Microsoft and its reputation.”
Cheffo’s letter highlighted that Delta’s IT infrastructure issues were not solely related to Microsoft technologies. Instead, the problematic systems were serviced by other companies, including IBM and Amazon. Despite these offers for assistance, Delta struggled more than other airlines, like American and United, to recover from the outage. This discrepancy led Microsoft to question why Delta had not modernized its IT systems as effectively as its competitors.
Delta Defends Its IT Investments
Delta responded by defending its investments in IT infrastructure, stating it has spent billions since 2016 to ensure safe and reliable operations. A statement from Delta reiterated its commitment to elevated service standards for both customers and employees.
Boies, in a letter dated July 29 to Microsoft’s chief legal officer Hossein Nowbar, accused Microsoft of gross negligence concerning the CrowdStrike update. Cheffo refuted this, stating that Delta’s claims were damaging and that Delta’s IT issues were exacerbated by their reliance on technology from other providers.
CrowdStrike Also Rejects Delta’s Claims
The contentious exchange follows a similar denial from CrowdStrike, which also rejected Delta’s claims. CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz reportedly reached out to Delta’s CEO but received no response. Both Microsoft and CrowdStrike emphasized their offers to assist Delta during the crisis, which were declined.
Delta executives explained that the outage overwhelmed their crew-scheduling platform, necessitating a manual reset of 40,000 servers. Microsoft has demanded that Delta retain records of the technology used during the outage, specifically those from IBM and Amazon, whose technologies were part of Delta’s IT infrastructure.
Bastian told CNBC that thorough testing is crucial for operations as critical as Delta’s, expressing frustration over the incident’s significant impact.
Featured Image courtesy of PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images
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