Delta Can Sue CrowdStrike,Stranded Passengers Can't–They're Asking Supreme Court

A group of passengers affected by the July 2024 CrowdStrike software outage is asking the Supreme Court to allow them to sue the cybersecurity vendor for losses tied to Delta’s mass cancellations. CrowdStrike’s update crashed millions of Windows systems, forcing Delta to cancel roughly 7,000 flights and disrupt about 1.3 million travelers. Lead plaintiff Julio del Rio says he spent roughly $1,200 on replacement tickets, endured an 11‑hour overnight delay in Kona and arrived home 17 hours late. Their lawsuit alleges negligence in designing, testing and releasing the update, failure to warn and public nuisance, but a federal judge dismissed the claims in June 2025 and the Fifth Circuit affirmed in May, while Delta’s separate contract- and gross‑negligence claims against CrowdStrike survive in Georgia.

The legal question is whether the Airline Deregulation Act (ADA) preempts state‑law tort claims that touch an airline’s “price, route, or service” even when the defendant is a vendor, not an airline. Circuits split on what counts as an airline “service”: the Fifth and recently the Eighth take a broad view (including amenities and baggage), the Ninth a narrower one focused on scheduled transportation, and the Eleventh imposes additional limits. The passengers filed certiorari in Del Rio v. CrowdStrike (No. 26‑355) on September 14; a response is due October 16. The commentary argues ordinary duties to test software are remote from airline economic regulation, gives about a 10% chance the Court will hear the case, and urges Congress to clarify that routine negligence claims survive.