Atlanta-Bound Delta Flights Delayed Up To Six Hours

We here at Aero-News Net are firm believers in the theory of "percussive maintenance."

In other words, we believe that any computer glitch can be resolved with the use of a ball-peen hammer.

Maybe that's what Delta Airlines needed over the weekend, as a computer problem caused flights to Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International to be delayed by more than six hours.

As to what caused the computer problems, Delta won't yet say. "We are still investigating that and we don't have information yet as to the exact nature of the problem," said Delta spokeswoman Liza Caceres.

Delta told the FAA it had problems with the computers that handle dispatching. Those computers handle weight and balance calculations, fuel load calculations and gate information.

It all started around 2:50 pm EDT Saturday, when the problems were uncovered at Delta's Atlanta headquarters. Flights in the air were allowed to continue to Hartsfield-Jackson, but those on the ground stayed on the ground for up to six-and-a-half hours. Although the computer problems were apparently resolved at about 9:30 pm EDT, what Delta called "residual" delays were off the ground by 10:00 am EDT Sunday.

FMI: www.delta.com