This is not only a nightmare for Delta Airlines passengers everywhere but for the start of the busy Christmas travel season in the United States, specifically at the busiest airport in the nation, Atlanta.
Some airliners parked at Atlanta Hartsfield – Jackson International airport are now sending passengers down evacuation slides to deplane in the dark.
Delta Airlines calls Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport home. A sustained power outage shortly after 1 pm on Sunday brought the busiest airport to a stillstand.
Delta continues to say planes are on time for Atlanta. Passengers cannot get through to Delta for information. “Why do they wait until the last second to decide on a flight?”, an angry passenger asked.
“I paid $700 yesterday in fare difference and change fees as I was late to my flight due to circumstances beyond my control. And today with all this mess at Atlanta Airport you aren’t even responding to my calls.”, another passenger tweets, indicating the airline was not prepared for any incident like this.
The cause of the incident remains under investigation. ATL officials are working with Georgia Power to identify the cause and remedy the situation.
The Federal Aviation Administration has issued a ground stop for flights headed to ATL and many inbound flights are being diverted. A ground stop means that flights headed to Atlanta are held on the ground at their departure airport. This is very bad for Delta Airlines, since most flights are going in and out of Atlanta.
ATL recommends passengers, employees and stakeholders follow the Airport’s Twitter feed ( @ATLAirport) for more information. Passengers are also directed to follow their individual airlines’ social media channels for flight information.
