Planes belonging to Delta Air Lines will undergo inspections following a storm with hail in the southern regions.
🌪️ Stormy Nights and Trouble for Delta 🛫
Whew! Atlanta got slapped with some gnarly weather on Friday night, and it spun quite the drama for Delta Air Lines.
The hailstorm, packing quarter-inch ice balls, left Delta's planes bruised and battered, grounded and unable to fly until maintenance teams could perform inspections. Over 100 birds were temporarily pulled from service for safety checks. But fear not, these Delta mechanics didn't bat an eye, working tirelessly to get the planes back in the air.
The FAA even had to evacuate most air traffic controllers from the airport's control tower due to the chaotic winds. Thankfully, a few grizzled veterans remained on duty, keeping the skies safe while managing the air traffic chaos left in the storm's wake.
The tumultuous weather shattered travel plans, leading to approximately 90 Delta flights being diverted to alternate airports scattered throughout the Southeast. Over 380 Delta flights were grounded for Saturday due to the inspections and disruptions, causing additional delays as crews and aircraft got back on their feet.
The airport itself suffered too, with more than 1,000 flight delays and 170 cancellations by Friday evening. Departures were backed up for 16 to 30 minutes, while arrivals averaged a whopping 75-minute delay. Incoming flights were held at their departure points until at least midnight to prioritize safety amid the storm.
And it wasn't just the airport that flooded. The heavy rains caused flash floods around the area, compounding the misery for passengers and adding to the disrupted travel experience.
In essence, the storm transformed Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport into a bustling, congested mess, leaving Delta Air Lines eagerly waiting for clear skies and smoother runways. ☁️🛬 👍
Sources:[1] - (AP NEWS) Delta Air Lines: Storm creates chaos as airline grounds 100 planes in Atlanta[2] - (CBS46) Delta Air Lines grounding planes amid Friday's Midtown storm[4] - (Fox 5 Atlanta) More than 380 Delta flights canceled after storm in Atlanta Friday night[5] - (WXIA 11 Alive) Flash flooding at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta Airport causes flight delays and cancellations
The industry-wide disruptions extended to finance, as Delta Air Lines faced a significant financial impact due to the Grounded planes and diverted flights caused by the severe weather in Atlanta.
The turbulent weather in aviation not only affected transportation on the ground but also created havoc in the skies, leading to delays and cancellations in the transportation sector across the Southeast.
