Airlines face recent lawsuits, data breaches, fines

Airline lawsuits, data breach, fines overview: 

• Who: Major airlines, including Alaska Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue Airways and American Airlines, recently faced lawsuits, data breaches and fines.
• Why: Consumers hit Alaska Airlines with a lawsuit, while the U.S. Department of Transportation fined JetBlue and American Airlines. Delta recently confirmed a data breach and filed a lawsuit against a cybersecurity company. 
• Where: Consumers around the world use the airlines. 

Alaska Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue Airways and American Airlines recently experienced lawsuits, data breaches and fines.

Passengers file lawsuit after Alaska Airlines door plug blowout 

A group of passengers aboard a January 2024 Alaska Airlines flight when a door plug blew out mid-flight filed a lawsuit against Alaska Airlines Inc., The Boeing Co. and Spirit Aerosystems Inc. this month. 

The group argue Boeing and Spirit Aerosystems negligently manufactured defective airplanes and Alaska Airlines failed to adequately inspect and maintain the aircraft. 

The lawsuit also claims the passengers suffered physical and emotional injuries from the mid-flight incident, which occurred during the Boeing 737 MAX jet’s initial ascent from Portland, Oregon, to Ontario, California.

The group previously filed a class action lawsuit against Boeing following the incident but asked a Seattle federal judge late last year to throw out the claims so they could file a new complaint in state court that could potentially be heard by a jury. 

Delta claims cybersecurity company cost airline $500M

Delta Air Lines filed a lawsuit against CrowdStrike Inc. in October over claims the cybersecurity company forced an untested software update in July 2024 that caused a massive disruption in the airline industry. 

Delta argues the “untested and faulty” software updates forced it to cancel flights and cost it $500 million in lost revenue. 

“CrowdStrike caused a global catastrophe because it cut corners, took shortcuts and circumvented the very testing and certification processes it advertised, for its own benefit and profit,” the Delta lawsuit says. 

CrowdStrike reportedly fired back by arguing Delta was partly to blame for the extended outage and said the airline’s claims were “based on proven disinformation” and “demonstrate a lack of understanding of how modern cybersecurity works.” 

Delta confirms data breach after threat actor leaks employee data

In November, Delta reportedly confirmed it suffered a data breach after a threat actor leaked a dataset containing certain employee data. 

The threat actor behind the apparent data breach, who goes by the online moniker Nam3L3s, says the data was stolen as part of the 2023 data breach incident involving the MOVEit file transfer system.

Delta says the leaked dataset included employee names, contact information and office location but no sensitive personal information. 

The threat actor reportedly says it decided to leak the stolen dataset as a way to raise awareness about data security. 

DOT fines JetBlue $2M for ‘chronically’ delaying flights 

The U.S. Department of Transportation fined JetBlue Airways $2 million this month for operating “chronically delayed” flights over a nearly 18-month period. 

The agency says JetBlue violated federal regulations by operating four flights that were delayed at least 145 times between June 2022-November 2023, affecting thousands of airline travelers. 

“Illegal chronic flight delays make flying unreliable for travelers. Today’s action puts the airline industry on notice that we expect their flight schedules to reflect reality,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says in a statement. 

American Airlines fined $50M over failure to assist disabled passengers

In October, the DOT ordered American Airlines to pay $50 million in civil penalties over its alleged widespread failure to provide proper assistance to passengers with disabilities. 

The agency claimed an investigation revealed thousands of American Airlines passengers received inadequate wheelchair assistance, which at times caused them physical injuries and undignified treatment. 

The DOT also says American Airlines mishandled thousands of wheelchairs by damaging them or delaying their return, leaving disabled travelers without access to them. 

“The era of tolerating poor treatment of airline passengers with disabilities is over,” Buttigieg says in a statement. 

What are your thoughts on the airline lawsuits? Let us know in the comments.

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