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Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian announced on Monday that the airline will need a few more days to recover from a global cyber outage that has severely impacted its operations. The outage, triggered by a faulty software update from cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, has resulted in the cancellation of over 4,000 flights since Friday, stranding thousands of passengers worldwide.
The disruption began when a software update from CrowdStrike caused system problems for Microsoft Windows users, affecting numerous airlines, including Delta. Despite efforts to resolve the issues, Delta has continued to experience significant operational challenges. On Monday alone, the airline canceled over 800 flights, which accounted for about 21% of its scheduled flights for the day, according to data from FlightAware. This was nearly half of the total cancellations across the U.S. airline industry.
In a video message to employees, Bastian, along with Chief Information Officer Rahul Samant, provided updates on the situation. Bastian emphasized that while the company is making progress, it will take a few more days for operations to return to normal. “Today will be a better day than yesterday and hopefully Tuesday and Wednesday will be that much better again,” he said.
Delta’s shares have taken a hit, closing down about 3.5% at $43.83. The airline’s IT teams have been working around the clock to manually repair and reboot affected systems, many of which are Microsoft Windows-based. The most time-consuming task has been fixing the crew tracker application, crucial for ensuring that all flights have a full crew in the right place at the right time.
CrowdStrike’s reputation has suffered significantly due to the incident. According to CNBC, the massive IT blackout caused by the software update has raised concerns about the company’s reliability, potentially affecting its ability to attract new customers. BTIG noted that while the risk of losing existing customers is low, the outage may impact future customer acquisitions.
The Motley Fool reported that shares of CrowdStrike have plummeted, dropping 12% on Monday and over 30% from its all-time high earlier this month. Analysts have downgraded their expectations for the company, citing potential legal fees and customer reluctance to sign new deals. Wells Fargo analyst Andrew Nowinski and Guggenheim analyst John DiFucci both lowered their price targets for CrowdStrike, reflecting a cautious outlook from Wall Street.
The broader implications of the cyber outage extend beyond Delta and CrowdStrike. According to Forbes, the incident underscores the vulnerability of major systems to cyber threats and the cascading effects such disruptions can have across industries.
Delta’s response to the crisis highlights the importance of robust cybersecurity measures and the challenges of managing complex IT systems. As the airline works to restore normalcy, passengers are advised to stay updated on their flight statuses and prepare for potential delays and cancellations.