Delta Computer Outage Included ‘Small Fire’ at Data Center

Delta is still dealing with issues related to the outage. Another 1,900 Delta flights had been delayed, according to tracking service FlightStats Inc. The airline is refusing to detail the extent of that fire — and the damage it caused. They declined to describe whether the airline’s information-technology system had enough built-in redundancies to recover quickly from a hiccup like a power outage.

The Transportation Department said it also made sure Delta provided information about customer refunds on its website and was reviewing the consumer complaints that it had received. Cancellations affected about 800 flights Tuesday and another 300 Wednesday, and caused numerous delays. “The company could have done a better job of explaining. what was happening”. Delta operates almost 6,000 flights a day this time of year. Eastern time. The airline posted a video apology by CEO Ed Bastian. The power failure was caused by a fire in a power control module at Delta’s Atlanta technology center.

The system the airline uses to check in and board passengers as well as dispatch its planes is still slow, said Gil West, Delta’s chief operating officer. He said no other customers lost power. The airline is waiving certain change fees for travelers booked to fly this week through Thursday who want to reschedule their travel to a later date through August 21.

Flights that were already in the air when the outage occurred continued to their destinations, but flights on the ground remained there.

That has afflicted airlines in the US and overseas. Last month, the average Delta flight was 87 percent full. United Airlines and American Airlines both suffered outages a year ago – United has struggled with several meltdowns since combining technology systems with merger partner Continental Airlines. Some were due to the computer problems and others were due to bad weather, the airline said. But Thursday morning still had some headaches for travelers, with FlightStats.com reporting at least 30 Delta flight cancelations and almost 300 other delays. The company’s computers were down until about 8:30 a.m.

Bodeen said that passengers were taking the matter in stride.

“I have two kids with me, looking forward to getting to their cousins so they can seek out (characters) in Pokemon Go”, she said in a telephone interview after waiting three hours to check in at Newark Liberty International Airport. And Delta said it gave hotel vouchers to “several thousand” customers including 2,000 in Atlanta. Passengers that reschedule for later than August 21 may have to pay the difference in ticket price, but Delta will still waive its $200 rescheduling fee.