The tension is escalating between CrowdStrike and Delta Airlines as a possible lawsuit looms over the technology company following July’s widespread outage that reportedly resulted in the cancellation of numerous Delta flights.
In a letter from CrowdStrike’s lawyer Michael Carlinsky to Delta Airlines’ lawyer David Boies, Carlinsky argued that Delta’s threats of legal action have created a false impression that CrowdStrike is to blame for Delta’s IT decisions and response to the outage.
The letter also revealed that CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz attempted to offer assistance to Delta CEO Ed Bastian during the crisis but received no response, as reported by CNBC.
Related: Dive into the Memo Addressing the Extensive IT Outage by CrowdStrike
Carlinsky warned that if Delta proceeds with the lawsuit, they will have to justify to the public, shareholders, and potentially a jury why CrowdStrike took immediate responsibility for its actions while Delta did not.
During an interview on “Squawk Box,” Bastian emphasized that Delta had no other option but to pursue damages in light of the incident to safeguard the interests of shareholders, customers, and employees from both financial and reputational harm.
The CrowdStrike outage caused significant disruptions on Microsoft devices and internal systems at Delta, including an essential crew-tracking tool for the airline.
Delta is estimated to have incurred losses ranging from $350 million to $500 million and had to cancel approximately 7,000 flights as a result of the outages.
Related: Delta Enlists Prominent Attorney to Seek Redress from CrowdStrike
Although Delta has not disclosed the exact amount they intend to claim in compensation from CrowdStrike, Bastian informed employees through an internal communication that the airline is preparing to pursue legal action against the tech company.
As of Tuesday afternoon, Delta Airlines’ stock had dropped over 15.5% year-over-year.
