Delta Air Lines’ computer systems failure caused by a power outage led the airline to temporarily ground all flights around the world this morning, with up to 300 flight cancellations.
Delta has since tallied the number of flights which will be cancelled today as a result of these disruptions to around 300.
.@Delta has cancelled approx. 300 flights due to power outage. Systems are coming back online, but delays and cancellations continue.
— Delta News Hub (@DeltaNewsHub) August 8, 2016
10:40 a.m. ET UPDATE: Delta has cancelled approximately 300 flights due to a power outage impacting Delta operations systemwide. As of 10:30 a.m. ET, Delta operated 800 of its nearly 6,000 scheduled flights. While systems are improving and flights are resuming, delays and cancellations continue.
A travel waiver is in effect: http://www.delta.com/content/www/en_US/traveling-with-us/advisories/system-outage.html.
Customers heading to the airport should expect delays and cancellations. While inquiries are high and wait times are long, our customer service agents are doing everything they can to assist. There may also be some lag time in the display of accurate flight status at delta.com, the Fly Delta App and from Delta representatives on the phone and in airport.
We apologize to customers who are affected by this issue, and our teams are working to resolve the problem as quickly as possible.
As of 10:30 a.m. ET @Delta has canceled approx. 300 flights and operated 800 flights of the nearly 6,000 flights scheduled today.
— Delta News Hub (@DeltaNewsHub) August 8, 2016
Available details on the systems failure, timeline of events, and other airline updates follow.
Update as of 8:40 EST this morning, some departures are resuming.
.@Delta ground stop has been lifted & limited departures resuming following power outage in ATL that impacted Delta computer systems (more)
— Delta News Hub (@DeltaNewsHub) August 8, 2016
8:40 a.m. ET UPDATE: A Delta ground stop has been lifted and limited departures are resuming following a power outage in Atlanta that impacted Delta computer systems and operations worldwide. Cancellations and delays continue.
Customers heading to the airport should expect delays and cancellations. While inquiries are high and wait times are long, our customer service agents are doing everything they can to assist. There may also be some lag time in the display of accurate flight status at delta.com, the Fly Delta App and from Delta representatives on the phone and in airport.
A travel waiver is in effect: http://www.delta.com/content/www/en_US/traveling-with-us/advisories/system-outage.html.
Due to a computer outage, flights awaiting departure are currently delayed. Flights enroute are operating normally.
— Delta News Hub (@DeltaNewsHub) August 8, 2016
.@wxdiz: storm that knocked out @Delta systems moved thru #ATL
btw 1-2AM. Lightning struck 1mi from #Delta ops ctr. pic.twitter.com/lmNTUA8Vep— Anaridis Rodriguez (@Anaridis) August 8, 2016
Customers should check the status of their flight before heading to the airport while the issue is being addressed.
— Delta News Hub (@DeltaNewsHub) August 8, 2016
Delta has experienced a computer outage that has affected flights scheduled for this morning. Flights awaiting departure are… 1/3
— Delta (@Delta) August 8, 2016
…currently delayed. Flights enroute are operating normally. Delta is advising travelers to check the status of their… 2/3
— Delta (@Delta) August 8, 2016
…flights this morning while the issue is being addressed. *VM 3/3
— Delta (@Delta) August 8, 2016
The chaos caused at Heathrow airport by the delays due to the system outage are reported to have affected shared check-in counters of the airline’s partner Virgin Atlantic.
Note to UK travellers flying #VirginAtlantic today — @VirginAtlantic share check in area with #Delta at Heathrow. Arrive early. It's chaos.
— Alex Macheras (@AlexInAir) August 8, 2016
Spoken to friend at #Heathrow – the shared Virgin Atlantic & #Delta check in is "chaos" – manual ticketing only, all systems down worldwide.
— Alex Macheras (@AlexInAir) August 8, 2016
#Delta: LONDON info: Some passengers are rebooking onto Delta flights operated by @VirginAtlantic – flights DL1, DL2 & DL3 all suspended.
— Alex Macheras (@AlexInAir) August 8, 2016
Long delays from #Athens, #Amsterdam, #London, #Malaga, #Tokyo, #MexicoCity & more in worldwide @Delta Airlines system outage. All grounded.
— Alex Macheras (@AlexInAir) August 8, 2016
#Delta: LONDON info: Some passengers are rebooking onto Delta flights operated by @VirginAtlantic – flights DL1, DL2 & DL3 all suspended.
— Alex Macheras (@AlexInAir) August 8, 2016
Delta says a power outage in Atlanta has led to the systemwide computer failures.
“6:55 a.m. ET UPDATE: 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. Large-scale cancellations are expected today. All flights enroute are operating normally. We are aware that flight status systems, including airport screens, are incorrectly showing flights on time. We apologize to customers who are affected by this issue, and our teams are working to resolve the problem as quickly as possible. Updates will be available on news.delta.com. “
Delta has updated its information, and has published a waiver for customers to ease the impact of these delays:
7:30 a.m. ET UPDATE: Delta has published a waiver for customers traveling on Aug. 8 through Aug. 12.
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. Large-scale cancellations are expected today. All flights enroute are operating normally. We are aware that flight status systems, including airport screens, are incorrectly showing flights on time. We apologize to customers who are affected by this issue, and our teams are working to resolve the problem as quickly as possible. Updates will be available on news.delta.com.
Pingback: Delays and 450 flights cancelled: What you need to know from Delta – Flight Chic