Delta Class Action Lawsuit Settlement Summary:
- WHO: Consumers have filed several class action lawsuits against Delta Airlines Inc.
- Why: The class action lawsuits concern flight cancellations as a result of a global power outage, data sharing with meta platforms and wage theft.
- Where: The class action lawsuits were filed in U.S. federal courts.
Consumers recently filed several class action lawsuits against Delta Airlines, involving flight cancellations due to a global power outage, data sharing with Facebook parent company Meta Platforms, and wage theft involving Delta flight attendants.
The flight cancellations are also part of an ongoing dispute between Delta, CrowdStrike and Microsoft. The U.S. Department of Transportation has launched an investigation into Delta’s handling of flight cancellations following the July 19 outage.
Class action lawsuit claims Delta failed to adequately compensate travelers during outage
A group of consumers filed a class action lawsuit against Delta earlier this month, claiming the airline failed to compensate them adequately for expenses they allegedly paid due to flight cancellations caused by a CrowdStrike software update on July 19.
The class action lawsuit argues that CrowdStrike outages caused by an automatic update resulted in thousands of delayed and canceled flights and cost consumers thousands of dollars.
“The impact on Delta passengers was catastrophic,” Delta’s class action lawsuit states. “Delta’s failure to recover from the CrowdStrike outage left passengers stranded at airports across the country and around the world, in many cases thousands of miles from home.”
Delta argues that global IT outages cost the airline $500 million
In our own dispute Delta says the global IT outage cost the company, along with CrowdStrike and Microsoft, $500 million.
The airline argues that it has lost $500 million in revenue due to the outage, as well as hotel costs and compensation that it has to pay to its customers due to the outage.
CrowdStrike and Microsoft, meanwhile, argue that Delta is partly to blame for the extended outage, which resulted in over 5,000 flights being canceled in the five days following the outage, through July 25.
In a letter to Delta’s legal counsel, CrowdStrike expressed “deep disappointment” at Delta’s alleged claim that the company acted inappropriately and “strongly rejects the allegations” that the company “acted with gross negligence or committed willful misconduct.”
Department of Transportation launches investigation into Delta flight cancellations
The US Department of Transportation a probe launched on Delta’s handling of flight cancellations in the wake of the global IT blackout.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says Delta has lagged behind other airlines in resuming flight operations, leading to thousands of customer complaints.
“We demand that all airlines fulfill their responsibility to care for their passengers,” Buttigieg said on X. “Due to the disruptions we have observed and the complaints we have received about customer service, we have opened an investigation into Delta.”
Judge gives green light to $16 million settlement between Delta and flight attendants
Also in July, a federal judge in California gave the green light to a nearly $16 million settlement to resolve Delta’s claims Wage theft committed against some of his flight attendants.
The preliminary approval came nearly a decade after the plaintiffs first filed suit in 2015, when the flight attendants challenged Delta’s payment practices.
The settlement will benefit a group of California-based flight attendants who worked for Delta between January 9, 2014, and March 31, 2024, and who did not participate in the airline’s expanded retirement savings program or voluntary exit program.
Delta shared consumers’ personal data with Meta, class action lawsuit says
Two consumers filed a class action lawsuit against Delta earlier this year, alleging that the airline your personal data has been disclosed unlawfully with Facebook parent company Meta Platforms Inc.
The class action lawsuit alleges that Delta breached its contract with consumers by allegedly installing a tracking pixel on its website that shared its customers’ personal information with Meta.
“Defendant’s sharing of this personal and identifying information with Facebook violates the Conditions of Carriage and the privacy provisions contained therein, to which Plaintiff and Class Members have agreed,” Delta’s class action lawsuit states.
Are you affected by the Delta class action lawsuits? Let us know in the comments.
Read more about class action lawsuits and class action settlements:
