United States airline Delta has cancelled at least 300 more flights after a power outage on Monday that resulted in the cancellation of 1,000 flights and delays for about 2,800 more.
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“We know that travelers value our commitment to excellent operational performance, and today we did not deliver on that commitment”, said Gil West, Delta’s Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer.
The airline said it is also offering compensation to customers significantly affected by delays or cancelations.
Delta is investigating why some critical systems and network equipment didn’t switch over to its backup systems following the power loss, the carrier said in a statement. Delta said it would provide 0 vouchers to all customers who had a flight canceled or experienced a delay of more than three hours.
Ryan Shannon, whose flight from Lexington, Kentucky, on Monday was delayed, said passengers boarded, were told to exit, waited about 90 minutes, then got back on the plane and flew to NY without further incident.
Many passengers only learned about the delays and cancellations when they arrived at the airport.
The additional cancellations are meant to allow Delta “to reset the operation and get crews, aircraft and other operational elements in place to take care of customers”, the company said.
“These systems – which run everything from flight dispatching to crew scheduling, passenger check-in, airport-departure information displays, ticket sales and frequent-flier programs – gradually have been updated but are still vulnerable, IT experts said”.
Delta says it will continue to investigate the cause.
Delta had made major investments in technology upgrades in the late 1990s, but that was followed by hard times, a bankruptcy reorganization and a merger. The carrier didn’t estimate how long repairs would take.
Some passengers said they were shocked that computer glitches could cause such turmoil. Ryan Shannon, another passenger on the Lexington-to-New York flight, said passengers boarded, were asked to exit, waited about 90 minutes and then got back on the plane. The voucher can be used within a year on any Delta-operated flight.
“There is always a delay, or weather, or something”, he said.
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Bastian offered an apology and an assurance, saying, “I apologize for the challenges this has created for you with your travel experience”.
