Delta grounds flights due to systems problems

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Delta grounds flights due to systems problems

By DANICA KIRKA

 

LONDON (AP) — Delta Air Lines has grounded flights and predicted widespread cancellations Monday, disrupting the travel plans of thousands of passengers, after a power outage hit its computer systems globally.

 

The Atlanta-based carrier said the outage began at around 2:30 a.m. Eastern. Flights which were already en route were operating normally, but others were delayed or cancelled.

 

"We apologize to customers who are affected by this issue, and our teams are working to resolve the problem as quickly as possible," the company said in a statement .

 

It noted that flight status systems, including airport screens, were incorrectly showing flights on time, something the company was trying address.

 

In the meantime, TV footage in the U.S. showed some boarding passes were being written out by hand.

 

Early confirmation of the troubles first came in an official account that responds to customers via Twitter. The company had said its IT systems were down "everywhere" and "hopefully it won't be much longer." Several applications were affected, including the company's website.

 

Among those affected was Tanzie Bodeen, 22, an intern at a software company who lives in Beaverton, Oregon. She had left for Minneapolis St. Paul airport at about 4 a.m. and learned about the delays only upon her arrival — when she found news crews gathered at the door.

 

"Delta didn't really say anything," she said.

 

Bodeen said that passengers have been taking the matter in stride. "It doesn't seem really hostile yet," she said.

 

People all over the world were affected. Stephen Smith, 32, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, had been stuck on the ground for hours at Tokyo's Narita Airport on a flight that was supposed to go to Shanghai.

 

Smith took solace in the fact the air conditioning on the plane was working and said it seemed everyone on board was fine.

"Waiting game at this point," he tweeted to The Associated Press.

 

The company said travelers will be entitled to a refund if the flight is cancelled or significantly delayed. Travelers on some routes can also make a one-time change to the ticket free of charge.

 

Delta shares were down 2 percent in pre-market trading.

 

Computer outages have caused major headaches for airlines and travelers before. Southwest Airlines was forced to cancel more than 2,000 flights across the U.S. last month after technology problems prevented many travelers from checking in or boarding flights.

 

-- © Associated Press 2016-08-08

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Delta Airlines flights have gradually begun to take off again.

 

 

LONDON: -- Computer systems had crashed earlier on Monday, leaving planes grounded and passengers stranded at airports around the globe.

 

Delta said at 0840 EDT (1240 GMT) that a halt on departures had been lifted and some flights were resuming.

 

Have any flights taken off?

Yes.

 

Flightracker website Flightradar showed a flight from Phoenix to Atlanta had taken off.

 

Three planes from Amsterdam to US destinations have also departed.

 

The US carrier also said the problems meant flight information was not showing correctly on Delta’s website or on airport information boards and this could take time to resolve.

 

What caused the problem?

Delta says the problems resulted from a power outage in Atlanta overnight. It warned customers to expect “large-scale” cancellations.

 

The outage began at 0230 EDT (0630 GMT).

 

Were international flights affected?
Yes.

 

Passengers were stuck in queues at check-in or on planes waiting to depart.

 

Delta operates 5,000 departures a day and is a member of the SkyTeam alliance alongside airlines like Air France-KLM.

 

It also partners for transatlantic flights with Virgin Atlantic, which said its flights were operating normally but cautioned that passengers should check tickets in case their flight was due to be operated by Delta as part of a code-share agreement.

 

Is this the first time this has happened?
No.

 

The glitch follows several high-profile computer problems faced by US airlines in the past year.

Southwest Airlines – halted departures after technical problem in July

American Airlines – suspended flights from three hubs last September due to a technical problem

Industry consultants say airlines face an increasing risk from computer disruptions as they automate more of their operations, distribute boarding passes on smartphones and fit their aircraft with Wi-Fi.

 

-- © Copyright Euronews 2016-08-09