By early afternoon, Delta said it had canceled about 530 flights as it moved planes and crews to “reset” its operation.
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Such incidents show that computer and power systems for huge operations like airlines are “as important, or more important, as our bridges and other physical infrastructure that need to be constantly upgraded and maintained”, said Ramnath Chellappa, an Emory University business professor.
According to flight tracking service, FlightStats, over 600 flights had been delayed on Tuesday and 330 had been cancelled by mid-day. At first the carrier said it was a power outage at its Atlanta headquarters, but Georgia Power says no, it was a Delta equipment failure.
For flights longer than 3,500 kilometers (2,175 miles), passengers whose flights are canceled or delayed more than three hours are entitled to the top bracket of $665 in compensation.
On Monday evening, Delta’s chief executive Ed Bastian, issued a video apology to passengers.
Delta’s network outages raises questions about the reliability of computer systems used by airlines – which are not regulated by the FAA, CBS’ Kris Van Cleave reported.
The airline is offering waivers for customers affected by the delays, traveling on August 8 through the 12th.
In July the average Delta flight was 87 percent full, news agency AP reported.
“A power outage in Atlanta, which began at approximately 2:30 a.m. ET, has impacted Delta computer systems and operations worldwide, resulting in flight delays”.
Delta Air is the third-largest airline in the world by number of passengers carried, with 138.8 million travelers previous year, according to industry group IATA, behind American Airlines and Southwest.
That has afflicted airlines in the USA and overseas. In July, a faulty router forced Southwest Airlines to ground flights – a disruption that lasted days.
Agents at many airports were using pen and paper to create boarding passes. Others took it in stride.
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“There is always a delay, or weather, or something”, he said. Delta also said it would not accept unaccompanied minors on flights until Wednesday.
