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Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

Delta Axes 400 Flights |After System Meltdown

(CN) - A fire at Delta Airlines' Atlanta headquarters caused it to cancel more than 400 flights on Monday, stranding thousands of passengers around the world after the blaze took out its computer systems.

And nearly 12 hours after the still-unexplained fire, more than 1,000 flights have been delayed, with many of those at risk of cancellation.

The meltdown began shortly after 2:30 a.m. eastern time Monday morning, andl left thousands of passengers stranded from Los Angeles and San Francisco to London and Tokyo, and all points in between.

The outage completely took out check-in and other computer systems at airports, and even blacked out Delta's website and smartphone apps.

So far, authorities have been hesitant to name a definitive cause of the mishap. A spokesman for Georgia Power said none of its other customers lost power Monday, suggesting the problem will ultimately be traced back to Delta's own equipment.

After the outage, jets were taken back to terminals and passengers given blankets and water; at some airports, many passengers reportedly slept on the floor near departure gates awaiting for flights to resume.

The complete system outage lasted about six hours, with limited flights resuming at 8:30 a.m. eastern time.

The airline continues to warn passengers of widespread delays and cancellations.

Photo caption:

FILE - Delta Air Lines passengers watch as a Delta plane taxis at Atlanta's Hartsfield International Airport in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, File)

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