Update: Georgia Power has elaborated on the problem and explained that it was equipment failure at Delta that caused the outage. Additionally, Delta has expanded their travel waiver to cover Tuesday travelers as well as those affected on Monday, though travel still needs to take place by Friday. Finally, a correction regarding the American Express Platinum protection – this protection is an added purchase, while it is complimentary with the Citi Prestige and Chase Sapphire Preferred.
Update 2: Delta is extending their waiver another day as there were more cancellations today, and more are expected for tomorrow.
As many of you are aware by now, a power outage in Atlanta resulted in Delta going dark this morning. Starting at 2:38 AM, the outage lasted for 6 hours and affected everything from displays at airports to mobile apps and the check-in kiosks. Thankfully they are issuing free travel change waivers for those affected today.
René, of RenesPoints on BoardingArea, has a helpful post outlining how to handle a situation like this. The most important things to do are to remain calm and polite when working with customer service representatives. They’ve been dealing with this problem since customers started to get affected by it this morning, and they likely won’t be done cleaning things up for a few days.
Make use of the travel change waiver, if your plans are somewhat flexible, and read up on your credit card’s travel interruption protection coverage! Some cards, like the Chase Sapphire Preferred, American Express Platinum, and Citi Prestige, will cover purchases for food, hotel stays, and other essentials for delays exceeding certain periods. With the Citi Prestige, for example, any delay over 3 hours qualifies. The Chase Sapphire Preferred [affiliate link] requires a longer period: 12 hours. The Platinum card from American Express [affiliate link] is in the middle at 4 hours. Links to the documentation for these cards can be found below, and a full list of cards that cover such expenses can be found at MileCards.
- Citi Prestige (p12-13)
- Chase Sapphire Preferred
- American Express Platinum (p10-12, p25)
Remember – stay safe and don’t panic if your flight is cancelled; Delta will make sure you get to your destination! It never hurts to send them a tweet (@Delta), but again remember that there is a person behind that screen, and they’re doing whatever they can to help everyone affected.
