Airlines threaten to move flights from Atlanta

Atlanta-based Delta Airlines and discount carrier AirTran Airways are threatening to move flights from Atlanta as they negotiate new lease agreements with Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

They say if their costs can’t remain competitive with the fees they must pay at the Atlanta airport, they could take their connecting flight business elsewhere.

Their lease agreements with Hartsfield-Jackson don’t expire until September 2010.

Neither Delta nor Airtran are thinking about pulling out altogether.

The two carriers represent roughly 93 percent of the traffic at the Atlanta airport. According to the airport, their business with all airlines is expected to generate about 160 million dollars in revenue for 2009.

(Associated Press)

Airline business hit by Gustav

The airline industry took a hit from Hurricane Gustav this Labor Day weekend. By disrupting travel to and from the Gulf Coast, the airlines didn’t get critical holiday revenue. Airtran Airlines canceled 23 flights, Delta Airlines 21. Flights could resume to Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport in Mississippi today. It’s unclear when flights will resume to Armstrong New Orleans International.

Storms thunder through Atlanta, briefly closing airport

Airport officials Saturday night briefly stopped arrivals and departures at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport due to thunderstorms that swept through the area.

The National Weather Service says that 50 m.p.h. wind gusts blew across the tarmac, causing about 100 Delta and AirTran flights to be diverted to nearby airports, according to a report in the Atlanta-Journal Constitution.

Georgia Power told the newspaper that about 143,000 customers lost electricity at about 10:45 p.m. Officials say they hope to restore power to the majority of customers by 5 a.m. Sunday morning.

Downed trees and power lines were reported mainly in Fulton, Cobb, DeKalb and Cherokee counties.

The southbound lane of I-85 near Tuskeegee Airmen Parkway was closed from downed trees, and some damage and debris was reported downtown.

Forecast: Cold and Clear After Saturday Snows

These were common suburban scenes across greater Atlanta early Sunday morning: remaining clumps of snow falling off roofs and slick, cracking ice on roads, as temperatures hovered in the mid-teens. (Dave Bender)

Snow, rain and sleet spread across parts of the South on Saturday, dusting lawns and shrubs with flakes and leading airlines to cancel several hundred flights.

All five runways at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport were reported open, but an automated Internet report from the Federal Aviation Administration said some flights bound for the airport were delayed by more than four hours.

Delta Air Lines Inc. had about 260 flight cancellations Saturday, spokeswoman Betsy Talton said. AirTran Airways spokesman Tad Hutcheson said 78 flights were canceled by afternoon and more cancellations were expected.

"We do have flights but with delays due to deicing, customers need to bring patience with them," Hutcheson said in a statement.

Snow fell as far south as southwestern Mississippi, with totals of as much as 3 inches, although the ground was too warm to allow it to accumulate. It was that area's first snowfall since 2001, the National Weather Service said.

Meteorologists in Georgia warned that the area's mixture of rain and snow could make roads icy Sunday morning, after overnight temperatures only in the upper teens and low 20s.

"We're really stressing people should, especially in the north metro area, stay off roads as much as possible," said Laura Griffith of the weather service office in Peachtree City.

Click here for National Weather Service warnings and alerts for Georgia.

Click here for more GPB News coverage of the wintry weather.

(The Associated Press)

Atlanta-bound airline passenger gets sick

Another airline passenger is reported to have a deadly contagious illness. AirTran says a teenager who flew from Orlando to Atlanta Saturday fell ill with bacterial meningitis. Meningitis is a bacterial infection of the lining surrounding the brain and spinal cord. It can’t be contracted through casual contact or breathing the same air. This comes weeks after Atlanta lawyer Andrew Speaker flew took two trans-Atlantic flights with a dangerous strain of tuberculosis.