Flight snags continue for Augusta travelers after tech outage

AUGUSTA, Ga. – A day after a cybersecurity outage brought thousands of global businesses and agencies to their knees, flight backups continue at airports around the world.

At Augusta Regional Airport, there were at least four canceled arrivals and three canceled departures on Saturday.

Especially hard-hit was Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the world’s busiest – and one that most fliers out of Augusta pass through. Even if they don’t make the drive to Atlanta to fly out, most travelers out of Augusta Regional Airport change planes in Atlanta.

Most flight information boards at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport are no longer flashing a blue error screen. But as of Saturday at 10:30 p.m., more than 689 flights in and out of Atlanta have been canceled and over 903 are delayed, according to data from FlightAware.

The Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines requested a stop on flights from southern and northeastern states until 9 a.m., according to the Federal Aviation Administration. Although it’s been lifted, incoming flights continue to be delayed by two and a half hours.

“Delta is continuing its operational recovery Saturday following an outside vendor technology issue that prompted the airline and many others to pause flying for several hours on Friday,” the airline said in a statement.

The widespread technology outage on Friday caused problems for industries across the board.

But one of the most visible ones was the travel industry, with lines of passengers stranded at airports after airlines were shut down by the outage that happened when cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike deployed a faulty update.

Flights were halted for hours Friday at Augusta Regional Airport because the outage affected Delta and American Airlines, Augusta’s two commercial carriers.

Traveler Nina Pantano said she was taking a quick trip home to see her family but now she won’t make it. Her main problem now? Her luggage.

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“It’s in Detroit, and I’m not there. They said it was supposed to just stay in Charlotte since I was not physically going to Detroit, and I could just pick it up, or they could send it back. But it’s in Detroit,” she said.

Some travelers are no longer relying on planes to get home.

David Wilkins said: “He’s heading to Richmond in a rental car, and he’s turning around and he’s coming back to the airport to pick me up, because we live like 25 minutes apart from each other in Richmond, Virginia.”

American started flying again by around midday Friday, and Delta said it was flying, as well.

But it was slow going.

By late afternoon, Delta showed a number of cancellations and delays at the airport, while American showed several delays.

Wilkins says he is a frequent flier with Delta Airlines.

“I’ve got 1.4 million miles with Delta out of 20 years. Maybe this has happened a handful of times, maybe three or four times,” he said.

In fact, only a couple of flights had arrived in Augusta all day, according to the online flight tracker.

Delta issued a travel waiver for all customers who booked flights departing Friday. It allows customers to manage their own travel changes via delta.com and the Fly Delta app.

The fare difference for customers will be waived when rebooked travel occurs on or before July 24, in the same cabin of service as originally booked. If travel is rebooked after July 24, any difference in fare between the original ticket and the new ticket will be collected at the time of booking.”

American Airlines sent out this statement:

“Earlier this morning, a technical issue with a vendor impacted multiple carriers, including American. As of 5 a.m. ET, we have been able to safely re-establish our operation. We apologize to our customers for the inconvenience.”

Local fliers should contact their airline directly for the most up-to-date flight information.

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