It has been a rough day for Delta Air Lines in Atlanta after an engine fire required a rapid evacuation of a 757 jet and snowy weather conditions led to a temporary ground stop. Delays and cancellations abound, even as flights have resumed.
Operational Trifecta: A Rough Day For Delta In Atlanta
The morning began with a frantic evacuation of a Delta 757-300 jet bound for Minneapolis over fear the engine had caught fire. The aircraft was traveling at 100 miles per hour when the pilots aborted takeoff. 201 passengers (and six crewmembers) quickly alighted the aircraft into below-freezing weather on the runway at around 9:05 am local time.
What do you do when your flight out of Atlanta has its engine catch fire on take off?
EMERGENCY EVACUATION@Delta – Thankful for the incredible staff and quick exit from the plane. But this was TERRIFYING…I have no words. pic.twitter.com/rSDP7g2UCf
— Bad Bear (@BadBearGamer) January 10, 2025
Per Delta:
“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.”
An airport spokesperson added:
“Four passengers are reporting minor injuries; one was transported, the remaining three were treated on scene.”
The incident, coupled with a rare snowstorm, prompted a ground stop from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for Delta departures, which has now been lifted. While planes are moving once again, the snowball effect from the ground stop and poor weather has snarled operations, leading to hundreds of delayed and canceled flights.
According to FlightAware, as of 3:30 pm ET, Delta has delayed or canceled over 800 flights from Atlanta, with airport totals creeping toward quadruple digits:
- 530 cancellations (52% of all flights)
- 294 delays (28% of all flights)
Throughout its network, Delta has delayed 738 flights (24%) and canceled 491 flights (16%).
Delta has issued a travel waiver for Atlanta (and other airports in the region): if your plans are flexible, you can reschedule your travel at no cost (same cabin of service) as long as it commences by January 15, 2025. Other airports covered by this waiver include:
- Asheville, NC (AVL)
- Birmingham, AL (BHM)
- Charlotte, NC (CLT)
- Charlottesville, VA (CHO)
- Chattanooga, TN (CHA)
- Columbia, SC (CAE)
- Dallas-Fort Worth, TX (DFW)
- Dallas, TX (DAL)
- Fayetteville, NC (FAY)
- Greensboro, NC (GSO)
- Greenville, SC (GSP)
- Huntsville, AL (HSV)
- Knoxville, TN (TYS)
- Little Rock, AR (LIT)
- Memphis, TN (MEM)
- Nashville, TN (BNA)
- Norfolk, VA (ORF)
- Raleigh, NC (RDU)
- Richmond, VA (RIC)
- Roanoke, VA (ROA)
- Shreveport, LA (SHV)
If your travel plans are impacted, try to use the Delta app, as wait times to reach an agent via telephone will be poor.
Crazy to think that my family and I were on this exact same flight from ATL to MSP last Friday. Glad everyone came out safely.
Very premium delays
@Matthew – How is your family doing with all these fires? Has your area been affected?
Hi Doug, see here–
https://liveandletsfly.com/los-angeles-wildfires-update/