Airlines canceled more than 2,000 flights on Friday as a massive winter storm snarled travel across the Southern U.S., while more than 2,000 others were delayed.
Operations were further disrupted after a Delta Air Lines Boeing 757-300 halted takeoff at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the world’s busiest and Delta’s main hub, and 201 passengers and seven crew members were evacuated on emergency slides because of an engine issue.
“Delta’s flight crew followed established procedures to suspend the takeoff of flight 2668 from Atlanta (ATL) to Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) after an indication of an engine issue,” Delta said. “Nothing is more important than the safety of our people and customers, and we apologize to our customers for their experience. We are working to support our customers and get them to their destinations as safely and quickly as possible.”
Nearly 900 flights to and from Atlanta, or about 40% of the day’s schedule, were canceled, while upward of 400 more were delayed, according to flight tracker FlightAware. The airport had a ground stop in place, which halts flights bound for that airport at their origin so the facility isn’t overwhelmed with planes.
Two of American Airlines‘ hubs of Dallas Fort Worth International Airport and Charlotte Douglas International Airport were also heavily affected by the storm, with more than 1,000 flights to and from those two airports canceled. Most of DFW’s flights were canceled on Thursday as the storm dumped snow in the area.
Delta, Southwest, American and other carriers waived change fees and fare differences because of the storm.