Delta says it lost up to $50 million because of the Atlanta airport power outage

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Delta says it lost up to $50 million because of the Atlanta airport power outage

atlanta airport power outage

Branden Camp / AP

Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport lost power for 11 hours on Sunday.

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  • Delta Air Lines says it lost $25 million-$50 million in revenue because of Sunday's power outage at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.
  • The airline had to cancel over 1,400 flights on Sunday and Monday.
  • It resumed normal operations on Tuesday.
  • Delta plans to talk to Hartsfield-Jackson and the local power company about compensation for the losses.


Delta Air Lines lost between $25 million-$50 million in revenue due to Sunday's power outage at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, a representative told Business Insider. The representative said the airline would talk to Hartsfield-Jackson and Georgia Power, the electric company that provides power to the airport, about compensation for the losses.

The airline had to cancel over 1,400 flights on Sunday and Monday after a fire in an underground electrical facility caused the airport to lose power for 11 hours. By Tuesday, Delta resumed normal operations in Atlanta, as over 90% of its Atlanta flights arrived on time.

Delta's recovery time was much faster than for previous disruptions. In April, Delta lost $125 million after canceling 4,000 flights over the course of a week due to severe storms in Atlanta. A computer failure at New York's JFK International Airport in August 2016 resulted in a $150 million loss and 2,000 cancellations. Delta said its speedy recovery from the Atlanta power outage resulted from new preventive measures the airline put in place to respond to unexpected disruptions.