Delta Air Lines Resumes Activity After Global Computer Outage Forces Grounding

Lines piled up at airports around the world.

ByABC News
August 8, 2016, 10:39 AM

— -- Delta Air Lines said this morning that limited flights have resumed, several hours after a computer outage grounded its planes, leaving passengers stranded around the world.

The airline noted that despite the resumption of activity, delays and cancellations would be an ongoing problem today. As of noon, Delta had cancelled 365 flights.

Delta's official Twitter account offered a slew of apologies to annoyed fliers who tweeted their complaints to @Delta.

The tweets confirmed the outage but didn't give any estimate for when it would be resolved. Monday afternoon, Georgia Power released a statement to ABC News, saying it believed Delta experienced a failure overnight in a piece of equipment called a "switchgear."

"Our crews have been on site this morning and we continue to work closely with the team at Delta as they work to repair the affected equipment," Georgia Power said in the statement.

In a statement posted on Delta's website Monday morning, the airline warned customers to check the status of their flights before heading to the airport.

"Delta has experienced a computer outage that has affected flights scheduled for this morning," the statement said. "Flights awaiting departure are currently delayed. Flights en route are operating normally. Delta is advising travelers to check the status of their flights this morning while the issue is being addressed."

Delta has also offered all of its customers a change fee waiver, regardless of whether their flights were affected, but passengers must hold tickets that included a flight today. Tickets must be reissued on or before August 12, and new travel must begin no later than August 12. Passengers whose flights were cancelled or postponed are allowed to request a refund.

A few hours later Delta CEO Ed Bastian apologized to customers in a Twitter video, calling the incident an "all hands on deck effort."

"I apologize for the challenges this has created for you with your travel experiences. The Delta team is working very, very hard to restore and get these systems back as quickly as possible," Bastian said in the video message.

In 2015, The Economist ranked Delta as the top airline carrier in the world in terms of passengers.

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