Delta's system woes torment travelers; few hassles at MSP
Updated 4:40 p.m. | Posted 5:51 a.m.
Delta Air Lines' flights resumed around the country Monday as the airline recovered from what it described as a morning power outage affecting the entire system.
Some Delta customers flying out of Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport struggled with delays of an hour or more, although the 8 a.m. lines at Delta's check-in counters did not appear to be unusually long.
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A few Delta passengers said their flights were not delayed at all. However, a group of teenage athletes from Edina traveling to Indianapolis for a swim meet weren't sure if the group would get there on time.
"If we don't get there by later on today, we're not going to be able to warm up this afternoon," said Sophie Clarkowski, one of 15 members of the team. Clarkowski added that she hopes that wouldn't cause too much of a disruption to their routine.
"We'd like to get there and get acquainted to our surroundings and get used to the pool and our hotel and everything before we swim at 6 a.m," she said.
Fortunately, the team did make it to Indianapolis. Coach Jeff Rodriguez contacted MPR News after the team landed. Their flight left Minneapolis three hours late but they will get some pool time before the meet starts.
Some customers, like Preston Vanschepen, seemed to take it all in stride.
"The sun will come up in the east again tomorrow," said Vanschepen, whose flight to Atlanta was delayed by an hour and a half Monday morning. "Sometimes you just got to take it all in stride. I mean, life happens."
Not everyone affected by the Delta delays was as forgiving. As of 4 p.m., Delta had canceled more than 650 flights systemwide and acknowledged that after the power loss, some critical systems didn't switch over to Delta's backup systems.
The hashtag #DeltaMeltDown2016 emerged on Twitter as frustrated customers in airports around the country took to social media to report their travel problems.
In response, Delta tweeted a video from CEO Ed Bastian.
"I apologize for the challenges this has created for you with your travel experience. The Delta team is working very, very hard to restore and get these systems back as quickly as possible."
Bastian told inconvenienced travelers they can receive waivers for rescheduling flights.
Later in the day, Delta said it will provide $200 in travel vouchers to customers whose flights were canceled or delayed three or more hours due to its system failures.
The airline said its investigation into the causes is ongoing.