The Microsoft logo is displayed outside its French headquarters in Issy-les-Moulineaux, outside Paris, May 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File)
Microsoft and cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike are teaming up to challenge Delta Air Lines' accusations that their technology caused thousands of flight cancellations following last month's tech outage.
A Microsoft attorney argued on Tuesday that Delta’s critical IT systems are likely managed by other tech companies, not Microsoft Windows.
“Delta’s public statements and your letter are incomplete, false, misleading, and harmful to Microsoft and its reputation,” wrote Mark Cheffo, a lawyer for Microsoft, in a letter to Delta's attorney David Boies.
Cheffo emphasized that Microsoft is investigating why other airlines were able to resume operations much faster than Delta.
This marks an intensifying dispute between the tech firms and the Atlanta-based airline.
Delta's CEO, Ed Bastian, claimed last week that a global tech outage, which began with a flawed CrowdStrike upgrade on machines running Microsoft Windows, cost the airline $500 million. Bastian hinted at potential legal action.
On Tuesday, Delta highlighted its history of significant investments in reliable services, citing “billions of dollars in IT capital expenditures” since 2016 and additional billions in annual IT costs. The airline declined to comment further.
CrowdStrike has also refuted Delta's allegations. Both companies stated that Delta rejected their offers to assist in recovering from the outage. According to Microsoft’s attorney, CEO Satya Nadella reached out to Bastian during the crisis, but the Delta CEO did not respond.
