Delta resumes flights after outage grounds planes globally

The two Delta Air Lines flights from Dublin to the United States, delayed after a power outage caused its computer systems to crash, have departed Dublin Airport.

The airline was forced to ground all its flights earlier on Monday after a power outage caused its computer systems to crash, halting flights worldwide and stranding passengers.

“A Delta ground stop has been lifted and limited departures are resuming,” it said later.

The airline said customers should still expect delays and cancellations, with long wait times.

The impact on Irish passengers is understood to have been limited as just two outgoing flights were affected.

The two flights were scheduled to leave Dublin Airport for Atlanta and New York on Monday morning, but were delayed until the afternoon. Both flights had departed Dublin by 3.30pm. Approximately 300-400 people were aboard.

The only other two Delta flights to pass through Dublin Airport were incoming flights that arrived before the outage arose.

The outage meant flights worldwide were being delayed and airport screens and Delta’s website were not showing updated flight status information.

Outage

“A power outage in Atlanta, which began at 2.38 am [7.38am Irish time], has impacted Delta computer systems and operations worldwide, resulting in flight delays and cancellations today,” Delta said earlier.

Delta operates 5,000 departures a day and is a member of the SkyTeam alliance alongside airlines including Air France-KLM .

It also partners for transatlantic flights with Virgin Atlantic, which said its flights were operating normally but cautioned that passengers should check tickets in case their flight was due to be operated by Delta as part of a code share agreement.

“Delta experienced a computer outage that has impacted flights scheduled for this morning,” said Delta, the world’s second largest airline measured by revenue passenger kilometres flown.

“Our systems are down everywhere. Hopefully it won’t be much longer,” the airline said on Twitter on Monday morning.

Frustration

Passengers stuck in check-in queues in airports across the world, or on board planes waiting to depart took to Twitter to share photos and frustration at the delays.

Amanda Jackson said on Twitter: “Chaos trying to check in Delta Heathrow t3. Been in queue for 1.5 hours. You seriously need to open more desks to overcome technical hitch.”

Peter Taylor added: “Still in Heathrow – should have been on 9:40 flight to Boston – waiting for news – staff apologetic, even had the captain speak to us.”

Cassie Chou took to Instagram to share a picture of inside the airport and added a caption saying Delta staff in Heathrow were “handwriting tickets manually”.

Computer problems

The glitch follows several high-profile computer problems faced by US airlines in recent months.

Budget carrier Southwest Airlines Co last month had to halt departures after a technical outage, while American Airlines had to suspend flights from three of its hubs last September after technical problems.

Industry consultants say airlines face an increasing risk from computer disruptions as they automate more of their operations, distribute boarding passes on smartphones and outfit their planes with wifi.

Delta serves nearly 180 million customers a year, employing over 80,000 people, according to its website. – (Agencies)