Passengers stranded by Delta’s five-day meltdown after the July 2024 CrowdStrike outage have taken the airline to court, and the Delta CrowdStrike class action lawsuit is now moving forward in federal court in Georgia on claims that Delta failed to refund travelers and steered them into e-credits and waivers instead of the cash they were owed. In May 2025, a judge allowed breach of contract and Montreal Convention claims to proceed while dismissing others. The case remains in active litigation.
What Passengers Are Suing Delta Over
The core allegation is simple. When Delta canceled roughly 7,000 flights between July 19 and the end of the month, travelers entitled to cash refunds under federal law were instead offered e-credits for future Delta flights, often without being told they had a right to their money back.1Courthouse News Service. Delta Passengers Stranded in CrowdStrike Outage Seek Refunds
The complaints also allege that Delta refused to cover meals, hotels, and ground transportation, leaving passengers to pay thousands out of pocket. One traveler who requested a refund for a canceled flight along with about $2,000 in expenses was offered a $100 voucher for a future flight. Another was told a refund would be processed automatically, only to learn ten days later that a formal request was required.2CNN. Delta Passengers Sue Over CrowdStrike Meltdown
The most pointed accusation involves waivers. Passengers say Delta offered partial reimbursements through its app but conditioned the payments on signing a release of further legal claims. Travelers who accepted small payouts, the lawsuit argues, unknowingly gave up the right to pursue additional compensation.2CNN. Delta Passengers Sue Over CrowdStrike Meltdown
Where the Case Stands
Two related suits were filed in August 2024 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia: Bajra v. Delta Air Lines and Khaku v. Delta Air Lines (Case No. 1:24-cv-03594-MHC). Both were assigned to U.S. District Judge Mark H. Cohen. The complaints alleged breach of contract, fraud, and deceptive practices.1Courthouse News Service. Delta Passengers Stranded in CrowdStrike Outage Seek Refunds3ClassAction.org. Khaku v. Delta Air Lines, Inc.
Delta moved to dismiss in September 2024, arguing in part that the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 preempted the passengers’ state-law claims.4Ars Technica. CrowdStrike v. Delta Complaint In May 2025, Judge Cohen granted the motion in part and denied it in part. Two categories of claims survived: breach of contract based on Delta’s failure to refund passengers, and Montreal Convention claims for travelers on international itineraries. The remaining counts were dismissed as preempted by federal law.5The Register. Delta Air Lines Class Action Cleared for Takeoff
Of nine named plaintiffs, five were permitted to pursue breach of contract claims and a separate group of five could proceed under the Montreal Convention.6Insurance Journal. Judge Trims Class Action Against Delta Over CrowdStrike Outage Named plaintiffs include John Brennan of Florida and Vittorio Muzzi of the Netherlands. Joseph Sauder of Sauder Schelkopf, lead attorney for the plaintiffs, called the ruling “a major step forward for Delta passengers seeking accountability.”7Australian Aviation. Delta Air Lines to Face Class Action Over CrowdStrike Outage
Judge Cohen ordered the parties to file an amended joint preliminary report and discovery plan by May 20, 2025.5The Register. Delta Air Lines Class Action Cleared for Takeoff As of mid-2026, the case remains in active litigation. No class certification ruling or settlement has been reported.
The Separate Passenger Case Against CrowdStrike Was Dismissed
Passengers also tried to sue CrowdStrike directly. In Del Rio v. CrowdStrike (Case No. 1:24-CV-881-RP), filed in federal court in Texas, plaintiffs brought state-law claims for negligence and public nuisance. On June 18, 2025, Judge Robert Pitman dismissed the case, ruling the claims were preempted by the Airline Deregulation Act because they related to airline services such as ticketing, rebooking, and baggage handling.8Courthouse News Service. Del Rio v. CrowdStrike Order Dismissing Complaint For passengers, the surviving route to recovery runs through Delta, not the software vendor.
Why the Outage Hit Delta So Hard
The July 19, 2024, incident began when CrowdStrike pushed a faulty configuration update to its Falcon cybersecurity sensor, crashing Windows machines worldwide. CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz said the company “quickly identified the issue and deployed a fix,” and the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency confirmed it was not a cyberattack.9CrowdStrike. To Our Customers and Partners10CISA. Widespread IT Outage Due to CrowdStrike Update
Other carriers recovered within days. Delta did not. The airline reported that 60% of its mission-critical applications, including redundant backup systems, ran on Windows, and its IT team had to physically reset 40,000 servers one by one. According to CEO Ed Bastian, the deeper problem was a crew-tracking system serviced by IT firm Kyndryl that received a “massive amount of incomplete data” after the crash, leaving Delta unable to locate its own pilots and flight attendants. Without knowing where crews were, dispatchers could not rebuild the schedule.11Travel Weekly. Why CrowdStrike Crash Hit Delta Harder
Between July 19 and July 21, Delta canceled more than 4,500 flights. On July 22, the airline accounted for roughly 70% of all U.S. cancellations that day.1Courthouse News Service. Delta Passengers Stranded in CrowdStrike Outage Seek Refunds Roughly 1.3 million passengers were stranded. Travelers reported being separated from luggage for days and buying last-minute flights on other carriers while covering hotels, rental cars, and food themselves.12Simple Flying. How CrowdStrike Outage Affected US Airlines and Airports
The DOT Investigation Closed Without Penalties
On July 23, 2024, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced that the Department of Transportation’s Office of Aviation Consumer Protection had opened an investigation into Delta over “widespread flight disruptions and reports of concerning customer service failures.” He said the agency had already received hundreds of complaints and vowed to “leverage the full extent of our investigative and enforcement power to ensure the rights of Delta’s passengers are upheld.”13CNBC. DOT Investigating Delta Over IT Outage Chaos14CBS News. Delta Flight Cancellations Today: DOT Investigation
The DOT treated the cancellations as a “controllable” event, meaning the airline’s responsibility.4Ars Technica. CrowdStrike v. Delta Complaint Observers pointed to the department’s earlier probe of Southwest Airlines’ 2022 holiday meltdown, which ended in a $140 million settlement that included a $35 million fine.14CBS News. Delta Flight Cancellations Today: DOT Investigation The Delta review ended differently. It closed without any penalties, with a DOT spokesperson saying the agency found that “Delta’s passengers received prompt refunds, adequate baggage assistance, and appropriate assistance for passengers with disabilities.”15Yahoo Finance. US Closes Probe of 2024 Delta Outage That outcome leaves the passenger class action as the remaining accountability track for stranded travelers.
Delta Is Also Suing CrowdStrike
The passenger case is not the only Delta CrowdStrike lawsuit. Delta has its own suit against the security firm and puts its damages at roughly $500 million. Bastian said the outage cost the airline that amount over five days, including lost revenue and tens of millions per day in passenger compensation and hotel costs.16CNBC. Delta CEO: CrowdStrike-Microsoft Outage Cost the Airline $500 Million A later breakdown put the revenue impact at $380 million and non-fuel expenses at $170 million, offset by $50 million in fuel savings from flights that never took off.17International Banker. Key Implications of the CrowdStrike Outage
Delta sued CrowdStrike in the Superior Court of Fulton County, Georgia (Case No. 24CV013621), on claims of computer trespass, breach of contract, product defect, gross negligence, and deceptive business practices. On May 16, 2025, Judge Kelly L. Ellerbe dismissed the intentional misrepresentation and fraud count but allowed the rest to proceed.18GSU Law Business Court. Delta Airlines, Inc. v. CrowdStrike, Inc. – Order on Motion to Dismiss
CrowdStrike had filed its own federal action in the Northern District of Georgia (Case No. 1:24-cv-04904-TWT) seeking a declaratory judgment, arguing Delta’s slow recovery was the product of its own “antiquated IT infrastructure.” Microsoft made a similar point in an August 2024 letter, with its attorney writing that “Delta, unlike its competitors, apparently has not modernized its IT infrastructure.”11Travel Weekly. Why CrowdStrike Crash Hit Delta Harder CrowdStrike voluntarily dismissed that federal case without prejudice in November 2024, consolidating the dispute in the Georgia state action, which remains active.19CourtListener. CrowdStrike, Inc. v. Delta Air Lines, Inc.