Delta’s Struggles Continue Into The Third Day Of Computer Outage Issues As Cancellations And Delays Still Abound

Apparently, Delta Air Lines can no longer tout itself as “cancelling cancellations.” The Atlanta, U.S.-based airline now faces its third straight day of computer system problems that have seen cancellations continue for an unheard of 72-plus hours.

As previously documented by the Inquisitr, Delta Air Line’s failing computer systems, which resulted in the cancellation of more than 2,000 flights, first started giving the airline headaches this past Monday.

Unfortunately for Delta Air Lines, the problems arising as a result of ongoing system issues are only seeming to continue.

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Since the time that the problem with Delta’s computer systems started, the usually reliable airline has been forced to cancel flights for Monday (1,000), Tuesday (800), and Wednesday (250 and counting). The Associated Press noted that hundreds of additional flights were delayed as of Wednesday morning.

This, unfortunately, comes in addition to the reported 2,900 delayed Delta flights affecting customers who continue to be left stranded in Atlanta, CBS Atlanta reported, in many cases for hours at a time.

In a statement published on the Delta Web site by COO Gil West, Delta Air Lines noted that it planned to end the cancellations and delays and would continue “normal operations” sometime Wednesday afternoon.

Unfortunately for passengers who recently purchased tickets under the assumption that they would swiftly receive the airline’s usually customarily strong level of customer service, it appears as if they were left out of luck these past few days as the airline continues to struggle to accommodate its stranded passengers.

The AP’s Scott Mayerowitz noted that “hundreds of thousands” of passengers continue to be left “stranded overnight throughout the ordeal.”

“Many [travelers],” Mayerowitz would continue, “[are] spending the night in airports around the globe. Others were put in hotels by Delta.”

The AP noted the startling statistic that more than 2,300 flyers were given overnight accommodations at Atlanta’s Hartsfield–Jackson International Airport on Tuesday night alone.

The issues that continue to beleaguer the troubled Delta Air Lines were first noticed, per Gil West in a statement to the AP, on Monday.

West noted that it was a “critical piece of equipment” that failed at the airline’s Atlanta headquarters, resulting in the loss of power; key systems and equipment not switching over to backups, as they are supposed to; and, ultimately, delaying and at times halting the system used to check in and board Delta’s passengers and dispatch its airplanes.

In response to the ongoing cancellations and delays that continue, the AP noted that Delta Air Lines has extended its travel waiver policy to offer refunds and travel vouchers (up to $200 in value) for those customers who suffered such cancellations or delays of up to three hours in time.

As the AP also noted, Delta has been following the lead of other major U.S. airlines in “packing more people in each plane.” This practice, in turn, makes it difficult to locate available seats for customers who have been left stranded by cancellations and/or delays.

In July 2016 alone, the AP reported, the average Delta Air Lines flight was almost completely maxed out at an estimated 87 percent full.

[Photo by George Frey/Getty Images]