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Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian has announced a gesture of appreciation for employees affected by last month’s extensive operational disruptions, offering them two free travel passes each. This move follows a significant software outage caused by a faulty CrowdStrike update, which led to thousands of flight cancellations and severe operational issues for the airline.
Between July 19 and July 24, Delta experienced unprecedented challenges, canceling over 5,000 flights—more than the airline did in the entirety of 2019, as reported by FlightAware. The incident, which saw a botched CrowdStrike software update take thousands of Windows machines offline, cost Delta approximately $500 million, about 40% of its second-quarter profit. The disruptions were exacerbated by issues with a crew-tracking platform and required manual resets for around 40,000 servers.
In a memo to employees, Bastian acknowledged the significant toll the disruptions had taken. “This has been a humbling moment for our company,” Bastian wrote. “An operational disruption of this length and magnitude is simply unacceptable — you and our customers deserve better.” He praised the staff for their heroic efforts, noting that over 4,000 flight attendants handled more than 6,100 extra trips during the chaos.
The offered “positive space” passes ensure confirmed seating, a departure from the typical standby flying privileges often available to airline employees. Despite this, the Delta organizing committee of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, which is currently campaigning to unionize Delta’s flight attendants, criticized the gesture as inadequate. They argued that it does not address the deeper issues within the airline’s operational management.
Delta’s operations have since returned to normal, but the disruption has impacted the airline’s reputation for reliability. The company has processed numerous refunds and reimbursement requests in response to the incident. Additionally, the U.S. Department of Transportation has launched an investigation into the disruption, with Secretary Pete Buttigieg highlighting the broader implications of technology failures on air travel.
Delta plans to seek legal redress from CrowdStrike and Microsoft to recover its financial losses. The airline has engaged law firm Boies Schiller Flexner for this purpose. Microsoft declined to comment on the situation, while CrowdStrike stated that it has no knowledge of a lawsuit and refrained from further comment.