Delta Air Lines has announced that Chief Operating Officer Michael Spanos will leave the airline on August 31, after serving in the role for just one year, as revealed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Spanos\’ departure comes on the heels of a major global outage of Microsoft Windows, triggered by a failed software update from CrowdStrike. This disruption forced Delta to cancel thousands of flights, surpassing the cancellations made by competitors United Airlines and American Airlines.

According to Chief Executive Officer Ed Bastian, the incident is estimated to have cost Delta around $500 million. In light of the situation, the U.S. Department of Transportation has launched an investigation into Delta\’s crisis management.

Spanos Had Been Seeking New Opportunities Before Incident

Sources indicate that Spanos had been actively seeking other job opportunities prior to the technical disruption. He had shown interest in potentially leaving the company \”earlier this summer,\” as noted in a memo from Bastian, which referenced Spanos\’ desire to explore positions with other organizations.