Thousands of stranded Delta Air Lines passengers around the world braced for what the company called “large-scale” flight cancellations and long wait times Monday, hours after a power outage hit its global computer systems.
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. At some U.S. airports, workers were scrambling to write boarding passes by hand.
Delta lifted a ground stop shortly after 8:30 a.m. Eastern but warned that travelers could expect significant delays and more cancellations.
“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 to address.
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.”
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.
(AP)
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The Delta power outage could be a test from terrorists who are planning to sabotage planes. The government is well aware of ways that the computer systems on planes can be controlled by outsiders.