Microsoft Says Outdated Tech Most Likely Caused Delta’s Meltdown

Skift Take

The letter is the latest in a contentious back-and-forth between Delta, CrowdStrike and Microsoft.

Meghna Maharishi

Microsoft believes Delta has not “modernized its IT infrastructure,” which resulted in a five day-long meltdown for the carrier. 

The tech company also said that its team had reached out to Delta multiple times to offer assistance for the meltdown, but the airline turned down its help.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella also contacted Delta CEO Ed Bastian, but he didn’t respond, according to a letter Microsoft’s lawyer sent to Delta on Tuesday. 

The letter, written by Dechert co-chair of litigation practice Mark Cheffo, also said it believed Delta refused Microsoft’s help because its crew tracking and scheduling systems were served by other technology providers like IBM.

“Given all this, my client was surprised to see your letter,” Cheffo wrote. “This is particularly so given that CrowdStrike has acknowledged responsibility for the content update that caused the July 19 incident.” 

Delta refuted those allegations, saying it has invested billions into its IT infrastructure. 

“Delta has a long track record of investing in safe, reliable and elevated service for our customers and employees,” Delta said in a statement. “Since 2016, Delta has invested billions of dollars in IT capital expenditures, in addition to the billions spent annually in IT operating costs.”

On Monday, CrowdStrike sent a letter to Delta saying it didn’t believe it should be blamed for the airline’s flight disruptions. CrowdStrike’s lawyer said the cybersecurity firm offered Delta onsite assistance, but Delta refused. 

Bastian appeared on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” last week where he said the carrier “had no choice” but to sue CrowdStrike and Microsoft for the meltdown. 

A Contentious Back-and-Forth

Delta hired prominent attorney David Boies last week to explore potential litigation for the meltdown. Bastian said he expected Delta to take a $500 million hit for the disruptions, due to the loss in revenue and the millions of dollars in compensation it owes to passengers. 

Microsoft’s letter is the latest development in what has been a contentious back-and-forth between Delta, CrowdStrike and the tech giant. Delta’s slow response to the mass disruptions and the blame on CrowdStrike has come under scrutiny, since most airlines recovered much more quickly from the July 19 IT outage.