Hundreds stranded in grounded planes at Hartsfield
Wednesday's weather creates havoc at Atlanta airport
By
JIM THARPE
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 01/18/08
Hundreds of passengers were stranded for hours on crowded jets earlier this week at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport as snow began falling and a de-icing plan apparently went haywire.
The backup prompted airport, airline and government officials to convene a meeting on the problems and discuss ways to prevent a recurrence as icy weather returns to the region this weekend.
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Gary Connor of Fayetteville said he was aboard Delta Air Lines Flight 1986 from Atlanta to Nashville on Wednesday evening. His flight pulled away from the gate at 5:11 p.m., on schedule. But Connor was aboard the plane — on the ground — for 5 hours before it eventually returned to the gate and passengers were told the flight was canceled.
"This happened several years ago this airport, and they supposedly put things in place to make sure it didn't happen again," Connor said. "And now they've messed it up again."
Delta spokeswoman Susan Elliott said Connor's account is correct. She said Delta canceled 70 flights Wednesday night in an effort to reduce ground congestion and notified more than 28,000 passengers about flight delays or cancellations. "The situations are difficult on everyone, including the flight crews," Elliott said. "So much of it is out of our control."
The storm pushed through the area late Wednesday afternoon, and at 7:04 p.m. the Federal Aviation Administration halted flights into Atlanta that hadn't already taken off because so many planes were on the ground, many waiting in long lines for de-icing.
The "ground stop" was lifted at 9:34 p.m., but by that time passengers on dozens of flights had spent hours aboard grounded aircraft.
Susan Shenefield said her US Airways flight from Atlanta to Phoenix spent three-and-a-half hours on the ground — much of it waiting for de-icing station — before going back to the gate.
"After about 3 hours, they finally broke out the beverage service," Shenefield said.
Shenefield said she got back to the gate at 10 p.m., got off the flight and went home. She said she caught an 11 a.m. Thursday flight for Phoenix and arrived without any problems.
Connor said passengers on Delta 1986 were told by the pilot as they pulled away from the gate that their plane would have to be sprayed with de-icing fluid prior to takeoff. He said they waited in a de-icing line for 2 hours. They did not get de-iced, he said, and the plane had to return to the gate because it was running low on fuel. The Delta crew announced that anyone who wanted could get off the flight. Connor said about five passengers did.
"They were the smart ones," he said. "I wish I'd been one of them."
Connor said his refueled flight pushed back from the gate about 8 p.m. and again maneuvered to a de-icing station. By this time, he said, they were behind 30 other aircraft awaiting de-icing. The pilot told the passengers it was taking 25 minutes to de-ice each plane.
The FAA said there were 90 planes in de-icing lines at 9:30 p.m.
"At that point, folks started to go a little nutso," said Connor, a veteran road warrior who flies twice a week.
About 9:30, Connot said the pilot came back on the intercom.
"He said, 'I understand a number of you have a high desire to go back to the gate'," Connor said. "He said we're going to do that after we can maneuver through the traffic. It looked like a parking lot."
They got back to the gate about 10:15 p.m., Connor said, and the crew announced the flight was canceled.
"It's frustrating," Conner said. "I could have driven to Nashville in four hours."
Another passenger who said she was caught in Wednesday's weather mess, Carolyn Emery, told WSB-TV her flight to Colorado Springs was boarded at 6:30 p.m. and then sat at the gate until 10:30 p.m. After finally leaving the gate, it spent three hours in line for de-icing before the flight was canceled at 1:15 a.m., according to Emery.
"We started at B-36 getting on a plane at 6:30 last night and I deplaned at 1:15 the next morning at B-36," said Emery, according to the WSB report. "I think there comes a point when common sense needs to prevail. You don't have to have passengers sitting on a plane for seven hours deciding if you're going to cancel or not."
