Customers file class action lawsuit against Delta after CrowdStrike meltdown

Several passengers who had their plans disrupted when a CrowdStrike glitch brought down the internet for several companies, including Delta Airlines, have filed a class action lawsuit against Delta.

The lawsuit was filed on Tuesday by Arben Bajra, John Brennan, Asher Einhorn and Melanie Susman in U.S. District Court in Atlanta, WSB reported.

In the suit, the plaintiffs said that a CrowdStrike outage on July 19, affected Microsoft Windows computers. Airlines, including Delta, use Microsoft Office365 for scheduling including crew schedules, passenger lists and tracking bags. The glitch forced airlines to switch to manual operations including checking passengers in on paper and forced thousands of flight cancellations and tens of thousands of flight delays that day.

By the end of the weekend, most airlines were back up and running except for Delta, which continued to have issues with flight disruptions for nearly two weeks, getting back to normal after July 31, the lawsuit said.

Delta, according to the lawsuit, blamed the issues on “its disproportionate reliance on Windows software and its inability to fix problems with its crew tracking system, leaving it unable to find the pilots and flight attendants it needed to fly its planes.”

The plaintiffs said that the company stranded them and others, denied or ignored requests for prompt refunds, and refused to provide all affected passengers with meal, hotel and ground transportation vouchers. The company, according to the complaint, still refuses or ignores requests for reimbursement.

Delta said on its website that passengers who canceled their travel plans because of flight cancellations or significant delays will get automatic refunds for the unflown parts of their trip and that most of the refunds already issued have been through the company’s website or app.

The company also said it “expanded the list of eligible expenses that may be covered for this disruption, including flight tickets purchased on other airlines in the same cabin of service or lower, train and bus tickets, rental cars and ride shares,” adding it would cover “reasonable costs” for the expenses.

Passengers can find out how to submit a refund request on Delta’s website where you can also check the reimbursement case status.

Delta had planned to sue CrowdStrike in a separate case, blaming the tech security company, saying it should be held responsible, Reuters reported.

CrowdStrike told Delta it was “disappointed” that the airline said that CrowdStrike acted inappropriately. CrowdStrike has been sued by shareholders who claim that the company’s claims about its systems were false and misleading.

The outage cost Delta $500 million, according to Reuters.

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