Computer outage affects passengers at Atlanta airport

ATLANTA — Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta Airport was a bit of a mess Friday because of the computer outage that grounded flights around the world.

It was a poorly timed outage for thousands of people flying to, from and through the Atlanta airport for much of the day Friday.

“They delayed us from seven to eight o’clock, then from midnight to one in the morning,” recalled Cassandra Wynn of Lawrenceville, who was trying to board a cruise ship in Alaska.

“Then today we have the outage that happened and now we’re still canceled,” she said Friday.

Aerial images taken this morning at Atlanta’s airport showed planes parked at gates, unable to take off. Inside the airport, hundreds of people were waiting in line, which promised nothing concrete beyond a conversation with a gate agent.

“I’m not on any flights. I’m trying to get a new flight. I’m in the line with the agents,” said Nina Simone Warner of East Point, who was headed to a Bible convention in Detroit until her flight was abruptly canceled.

“The link is not working. The Delta (Air Lines) app is completely down. Nothing works at all,” she said. “So my best hope is to stay on that line because none of the technical aspects work.”

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Since the computer outage halted commercial air traffic for hours, many people trying to fly had to wait.

“It’s supposed to be a really big trip,” said Haley Hoffman of Morgantown, West Virginia, who plans to go to Peru.

She flew from Pittsburgh to Atlanta.

“And then I missed my connecting flight to Lima. And now I have no idea what flight I was booked on, where my bag is or where I’m going to be tonight,” she said.

Hoffman was with Simone in an incredibly long line of people trying to speak to Delta ticket agents to book new flights.

Another queue formed for people trying to retrieve their checked bags that went missing on flights the passengers missed.

“We’re trying to get our luggage and this is a new problem,” said Joseph Parker, who landed in Atlanta on his way from Hawaii to New Orleans.

“They tell us our luggage is on a plane to New Orleans. But we say, ‘How’s it going to be on a plane to New Orleans?’ But we’re not on a plane to New Orleans?” Parker asked.