DELTA AIRLINES PROBLEMS: 7:30 a.m. ET UPDATE: Outage affects departing flights today....Delta computer failure grounds flights worldwide after power outage

By Staff Writer • posted Aug. 8, 2016

ens of thousands of Delta passengers around the world were grounded indefinitely Monday after a power outage caused a system-wide computer failure.

Check-in systems, airport screens and even the airline's website and smartphone apps are affected by the problem, which began at 2:38 a.m. ET.

The Atlanta-based airline suspended departures until the problem can be fixed, while airport agents wrote out boarding passes by hand. "Our systems are down everywhere," the airline told customers on Twitter. It later issued a statement confirming the outage.

"Delta has experienced a computer outage that has impacted flights scheduled for this morning," the airline said. "Flights awaiting departure are currently delayed. Flights en route are operating normally. Delta is advising travelers to check the status of their flights this morning while the issue is being addressed."

7:30 a.m. ET UPDATE: Delta has published a waiver for customers traveling on Aug. 8 through Aug. 12.

A power outage in Atlanta, which began at approximately 2:30 a.m. ET, has impacted Delta computer systems and operations worldwide, resulting in flight delays. Large-scale cancellations are expected today. All flights enroute are operating normally. We are aware that flight status systems, including airport screens, are incorrectly showing flights on time. We apologize to customers who are affected by this issue, and our teams are working to resolve the problem as quickly as possible. Updates will be available on news.delta.com.

6:55 a.m. ET UPDATE: A power outage in Atlanta, which began at approximately 2:30 a.m. ET, has impacted Delta computer systems and operations worldwide, resulting in flight delays. Large-scale cancellations are expected today. All flights enroute are operating normally. We are aware that flight status systems, including airport screens, are incorrectly showing flights on time. We apologize to customers who are affected by this issue, and our teams are working to resolve the problem as quickly as possible. Updates will be available on news.delta.com.

5:05 a.m. ET UPDATE: Delta has experienced a computer outage that has affected flights scheduled for this morning. Flights awaiting departure are currently delayed. Flights enroute are operating normally. Delta is advising travelers to check the status of their flights this morning while the issue is being addressed.