Delta Air Lines “Grounded” for Not Adhering to Best Practices

Nobody likes being delayed at the airport, forced to sit in uncomfortable chairs as the minutes slowly pass, each signifying that an important event or deadline is that much closer to being missed. Events that cause such delays cause headaches for passengers and airlines alike, just ask Delta, who recently suffered from such an event when a power outage struck Atlanta, GA, and with it, Delta’s computer system.

As a result, over 1,500 flights were cancelled outright, with far more experiencing delays. What’s more, in addition to the costs Delta will incur through providing their stranded travellers with travel waivers, their reputation as an airline has been tarnished and will likely continue to be, as the put-out passengers are not likely to stay quiet on the issue to their families, peers, and coworkers.

Delta has been regularly updating those affected with plans and protocol they'll follow to make amends and to ensure such an outage never happens again. We feel, however, that some important lessons may be learned from this event that may help others never encounter such circumstances in the first place.

As stated by the airline, Delta has been attempting to “rest operations,” but is also experiencing difficulties in returning to full operations, as a senior vice president posted:

"We were able to bring our systems back online and resume flights within a few hours yesterday but we are still operating in recovery mode."

However, if Delta had properly-implemented, functional backups in place, which they did not, the airline could have potentially avoided any downtime at all, saving themselves the ripple effect that the power outage caused the airline. Furthermore, Delta failed to act after similar circumstances befell Southwest Airlines a just a few short weeks before, neglecting to defend themselves against the potential repercussions of an outage.

Of course, there are measures that business travelers may put into place to help mitigate a few of the consequences that they would incur thanks to a grounded or delayed flight.

If a traveler’s flight is changed or cancelled for any of a variety of circumstances, a virtual private network put to use with a mobile computing solution and a VoIP solution would allow for a stranded traveler to communicate with clients and coworkers alike, preventing the loss of productivity one would usually associate with being trapped in a terminal.

If losing productivity to forces beyond your control concerns you, the professionals at Suffolk Computer Consultants can help you establish a solution to mitigate or even circumvent the consequences. To find out what solutions would best fit your needs, give us a call at 631-905-9617.