Lightning Strike Hits Atlanta Airport Control Tower

Severe weather that rolled through parts of north Georgia last night also affected operations at Atlanta’s airport. Hartsfield-Jackson International sustained a lightning strike to its air traffic control tower around 8:45pm, which added to flight delays. Soon after, the entire airport lost power. Officials say the tower was back in operation around 10pm, with all runways open by midnight. The severe weather in the region was responsible for a handful of lightning-strike fires, and a few thousand residents losing electricity for a time.

Fog, rain slow some flights at Hartsfield-Jackson

Delta Airlines jets line up at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. (AP/John Bazemore)

Fog and rain caused some flight delays at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport at the start of the busiest travel day of the year.

But airport officials on Sunday say they're off to a crowded, but smooth start for Thanksgiving travelers trying to get home.

National Weather Service meteorologist Patricia Atwell says weather conditions were causing low visibility that could slow aircraft arrivals.

The Federal Aviation Administration reported departure delays between 15 to 30 minutes and arrival delays of about 45 minutes Sunday morning because of clouds and low visibility.

Airport officials urged travelers to do their homework -- checking flight status, security waits and available parking -- before getting to the airport.

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Information from: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, http://www.ajc.com

(AP)

Early holiday travel off to good start

The early start to Thanskgiving holiday travel looks good for Georgians. The state Department of Transportation says most construction involving lane closures will be suspended from now until midnight Sunday. Current gas prices are friendly to drivers--the average in Georgia for regular unleaded is in the $1.70 range. It's the lowest for the Thanksgiving holiday in four years. And for people using Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International airport, security wait times early Wednesday morning were listed at 10 minutes.

Delta shareholders okay NWA merger

Delta Air Lines shareholders give the go-ahead to the company's purchase of Northwest Airlines by approving the issuance of new stock as part of the transaction.

Thursday's vote came at a meeting near Atlanta. Earlier in the day, Northwest shareholders approved the combination during a meeting in New York.

The deal still requires Justice Department approval.

Meanwhile, A top official of the machinists' union said Thursday that customers, employees and shareholders of Northwest and Delta will be hurt if the two airlines complete their deal to create the world's largest carrier.

Robert Roach Jr. says the two airlines have different corporate cultures and mismatched aircraft fleets.

Shareholders of both airlines voted Thursday to approve the combination.

Roach says combining the two work forces would require solving issues including workers' union representation, job security, pensions and seniority at the combined company.

He says mergers won't help troubled airlines -- most U.S. carriers lost money in the first half of this year as they battled high fuel costs -- and he called for more government regulation of the industry.

(The Associated Press)

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FAA: corrupted software shut down Atlanta system

Tuesday's mass flight delays caused by an electronic communication failure at a Federal Aviation Administration facility near Atlanta drew new criticism for an agency that has been scrutinized over air traffic controller staffing levels and inspection standards for its ground-based equipment.

The software glitch that delayed flights at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and nationwide, came as the FAA celebrates its 50th anniversary.

Kathleen Bergen is spokesperson at the FAA’s Naden facility at Hampton, south of Atlanta:

“The system went down during a normal, daily software load. Apparently a file was corrupted and that brought the system down… the Naden outage resulted in about 650 flight delays nationwide -- 140 of those in Atlanta.”

Hartsfield-Jackson is the busiest airport in the world, but Bergen says no flights were endangered from the software failure:

“The fact that we are in Atlanta, it is a busy airport, all our flight plans are processed through our facility in Hampton did create a bit of difficulty yesterday. But the important thing is that all the fights departed and arrived safely.”

Bergen says the FAA plans to update the Atlanta, and Salt Lake City facilities – which handles all flight plans west of the Mississippi -- early next year.

The Northeast was hardest hit by the delays prompted Tuesday by a glitch at a Hampton, Ga., facility that processes flight plans for the eastern half of the U.S.

As of Wednesday morning, the FAA said that the situation around the country had returned to normal, with most delays from the malfunction being cleared up Tuesday night. But spokeswoman Diane Spitaliere said the investigation into what caused the problem is still ongoing, and she did not know when it would be completed.

"It usually takes a while to be quite honest," she said.

A spokesman for Hartsfield-Jackson, did not return a call seeking comment on the impact there from Tuesday's episode. Bergen said officials at the Atlanta airport were entering flight data manually to try to speed things up.

Sen. John McCain, the Republican presidential candidate, said the episode "once again highlights the need to reform and repair a broken system." His Democratic rival, Sen. Barack Obama, said "airline passengers are sick and tired of delays and cancellations." And the nonprofit Travel Industry Association called it "one more example of America's deteriorating air travel system."

Discount carrier AirTran Airways, which has its hub at the Atlanta airport, said in a statement that because of the suburban FAA center snafu it was at one point taking up to an hour for the FAA to get clearances to the towers for departures Tuesday. Delta Air Lines Inc., which has its main hub in Atlanta, said flights were processing for takeoff, but slowly.

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(The Associated Press contributed to this report)

Ga. FAA glitch stalls flights nationwide (updated)

The Federal Aviation Administration said a communication failure Tuesday at a Georgia facility that processes flight plans for the eastern half of the U.S. was causing flight delays around the country.

An FAA Web site that posts airport status information showed delays at some three dozen major airports coast-to-coast, advising passengers to "check your departure airport to see if your flight may be affected."

An updated FAA map of flight-delayed airports is available here.

An FAA list of links to air carriers affected by the delays is here.

FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen in Atlanta said there are no safety issues and officials are still able to speak to pilots on planes on the ground and in the air.

She said she doesn't know how many flights are being affected.

Bergen said the problem that occurred Tuesday afternoon involves an FAA facility in Hampton, Ga., south of Atlanta, that processes flight plans. She said there was a failure in a communication link that transmits the data to a similar facility in Salt Lake City.

As a result, the Salt Lake City facility was having to process those flight plans, causing delays in planes taking off. She said there were no problems with planes landing:

"There will be flight delays," Bergen said. "It could be any location, because one facility is now processing flight data for everybody."

A spokesman for Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the world's busiest airport, did not immediately return a call seeking comment on the impact there. Bergen said officials at the Atlanta airport were entering flight data manually to try to speed things up.

The communication failure was causing delays for departures and arrivals at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, according to airport spokeswoman Cheryl Stewart. However, she did not have a number on delays.

The FAA has asked that no new flight plans be filed, Stewart said. If an airline has not filed a flight plan yet, that flight can't leave. However, some flights had already filed their plans and those planes were being allowed to depart, Stewart said.

The National Airspace Data Interchange Network is a data communications system for air traffic controllers. It's used to distribute flight plans and allows controllers to know when planes are leaving, where they're going and other details.

Allen Kenitzer, a western regional spokesman for the FAA, said the Utah system could handle the extra load while workers tried to get the Atlanta system back online, but it was expected to slow down air traffic.

"We're not going to let an unsafe condition exist. It's just going to be slower," Kenitzer said.

(The Associated Press)

Courtroom duel over guns in airport

Is it legal to carry a gun in Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport… a judge will hear that argument today in a courtroom duel between gun rights advocates and the city of Atlanta. Georgiacarry.org sued the city after a new state law went into effect July first that permits guns in state parks, restaurants that serve alcohol and on mass transit.

The gun group says that means concealed gun carry is legal in so-called non-secure areas of the airport. Atlanta mayor Shirley Franklin and airport manager Ben DeCosta disagree. Both parties contend gun carry is prohibited beyond security checkpoints. The hearing is slated for this afternoon in Fulton County Superior Court.

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.

Dead woman found on Delta flight

Delta Air Lines flight attendants found the body of a woman in the restroom of a plane that landed in Atlanta, Georgia, early Wednesday morning, a spokeswoman for the company said.

The crew noticed the restroom was occupied on final approach, spokeswoman Keyra Johnson said. Flight 950 from Los Angeles landed at 5:51 a.m.

Delta officials have not said how long the 61-year-old woman may have been in the restroom.

Atlanta police were notified and met the plane at the gate, Johnson said.

The body was to be taken to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation medical examiner's office for an autopsy later Wednesday, said GBI spokesman John Bankhead.

Authorities were awaiting the results of an autopsy to determine the cause of death, Bankhead said.

The woman's name and hometown have not been released.

Atlanta police stationed at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport respond to calls about dead bodies on airplanes a couple of times a year, police spokesman Officer Eric Schwartz said.

(The Associated Press)

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Congressman bids to keep guns out of Atlanta airport

The chairman of the U.S. House Homeland Security Committee wants the federal government to continue a gun-free designation for Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. Some Georgia lawmakers are at odds with the airport after a state law took effect July 1st allowing licensed gun owners to carry guns in public places like public transportation. The city of Atlanta and airport officials have said the law does not apply to the airport, which is under city authority. Mississippi Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson wrote to the Transportation Security Administration this week that, "It is my understanding that federal law prohibits individuals from carrying firearms in all areas of an airport and that TSA has the authority to enforce these restrictions."

Three former Atlanta airport employees found guilty in federal court

Two former employees of the Transportation Security Administration and a former Delta Air Lines employee assigned to Atlanta's Hartsfield Jackson airport have pleaded guilty in federal court to involvement in a drug-smuggling operation.

The former Delta employee, 42-year-old Leslie Adgar, and one of the former TSA workers, 44-year-old Jon Patton, plead guilty Wednesday to conspiring to distribute cocaine and heroin.

The other former TSA worker, 24-year-old Andre Mays, pleaded guilty to entering a secure airport area in violation of screening requirements.

Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 17. Adgar and Patton face a minimum sentence of 10 years in prison. Patton could receive up to one year in prison.

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.

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(The Associated Press)

Atlanta sees more on-time flights

On-time flights improved at Atlanta’ main airport last year. A new report by FlightStats says that 75% of flights that took off from Hartsfield-Jackson International arrived on time in 2007. That’s up 2% from 2006. Only one other airport saw improved on-time flights … Seattle-Tacoma International in Washington State.

FAA Investigating Near-Collision at Hartsfield-Jackson

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating a near-collision of two airplanes on the runway at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Friday.

Investigators believe an Atlantic Southeast Airlines flight bound for Greensboro, N.C., ignored orders from the control tower to stop its taxi across the runway, coming within seconds of running into a Mexico-bound Delta Air Lines Inc. jet, FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said.

The ASA pilot acknowledged the orders and repeated them back to controllers in the tower but did not stop, Bergen said.

The ASA jet was carrying 44 passengers, and the Delta flight had 130 aboard.

Air traffic controllers estimated the planes came within 1,250 feet - or about 2 to 3 seconds - of colliding. Both continued on their scheduled flights and arrived safely at their destinations, airline officials said.

ASA is a Delta Connection carrier and is owned by SkyWest Inc.

(The Associated Press)

Atlanta airport to collect fingerprints

International visitors who fly into the U.S. through Atlanta are going to have to give more fingerprints than they used to. Federal officials on Friday unveiled a new fingerprint collection program at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport - the second U.S. airport now using the system. The initiative, called US-VISIT, will collect all fingerprints of each visitor for increased security. In the previous system, screeners took only two fingerprints.

Atlanta has busiest airport

For the third year in a row, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport has retained its title as the nation's busiest airport. The Federal Aviation Administration says the Atlanta airport logged 994,466 flights in 2007. That's more than 18,000 more than last year. Chicago O'Hare International Airport was the second busiest in 2007.

Hartsfield-Jackson: Few Travel Weather Woes

Hartsfield-Jackson. (Google Earth)

Bad weather in other parts of the country caused mild traveling headaches over the weekend at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

The Federal Aviation Administration says flights to New York, Newark and Philadelphia at one point were experiencing delays of between two and four hours.

The delays at the nation's busiest airport were blamed on storms and wind in the Midwest and Northeast. But officials told reporters that security lines were still moving well.

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(The Associated Press)

Heavy travel today for holiday

Millions of people are traveling today, many through Georgia’ main airport in Atlanta. Foggy weather has thus far not hampered travel at Hartsfield Jackson International Airport. As of about noon, the airport’s website reported wait times of less than 10 minutes in security lines. Flights are also largely on time. Today and January 2nd are the season’s heaviest travel days.

Airport worker fired for hanging noose

A worker at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport has been fired for hanging a noose. Other workers discovered the noose Tuesday at a work site. The unidentified man worked for a subcontractor hired by Archer Western Contractors.

Rome hosts meeting on high speed rail idea

The Rome Civic Center was the site last night for the second of three exploratory meetings held by Georgia Department of Transportation officials and high speed rail consultants. On the table is the proposal for a high speed rail line that would connect Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport to the airport in Chattanooga, covering about 110 miles.

Officials offer four proposed routes. One is labeled the "Rome Alignment". Another is the easternmost route, which would go through Cartersville and eastern Gordon County, and through Dalton on the way to Chattanooga. The other two proposed routes would use the median of Interstate-75.

Officials will hold a meeting tonight in Chattanooga. Next spring, informational open house meetings are to be scheduled.