Delta Air Lines to cancel nearly 300 more flights

Delta Air Lines said it was cancelling some 300 flights on Tuesday morning, higher than an earlier estimate of 250, as the carrier worked to restore operations after a power outage hit its computer systems on Monday.

The company, which has not yet given details about the financial impact of the outage, said it expected additional delays and cancellations.

The airline cancelled about 1,000 flights on Monday, stranding passengers at airports around the globe.

“We were able to bring our systems back on line and resume flights within a few hours yesterday but we are still operating in recovery mode,” Delta, the second-largest US airline by passenger traffic, said on Tuesday.

Customers travelling on Tuesday should check the status of their flight at delta.com or the Fly Delta App, the company said.

Delta chief executive Ed Bastian apologised to customers in a video posted on the company's website and said the company was working around the clock to restore its systems.

Switchgear

The problems arose after a switchgear – which helps control and switch power flows like a circuit breaker in a home – malfunctioned for reasons that were not immediately clear, according to Georgia Power, a unit of Southern Co, which provides electricity to most counties in Georgia.

Atlanta-based Delta said it would offer compensation to customers affected by significant delays or cancellations. The company said it would provide $200 (€180) in travel vouchers to all customers who experienced a delay of greater than three hours or a cancelled flight.

Delta shares were little changed at $37.75 in premarket trading on Tuesday.

Rivals Southwest Airlines and American Airlines Group have also suffered flight disruptions earlier due to data system malfunctions. – (Reuters)