Update: 300 Flights Cancelled, Delta In Recovery Mode After Computer Outage

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.  

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.