Over 450 flights cancelled, several delayed as Atlanta's busiest airport faces wrath of severe storm

Hundreds of flights were cancelled and several were delayed after a severe storm wreaked havoc in Atlanta overnight. Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport is touted as the busiest airport in the world, and the storms are delaying flights at a time when people are rushing to get to their homes to celebrate the Fourth of July with their families.

According to FlightAware, more than 450 flights into and out of Atlanta were cancelled as of early Saturday afternoon. Delta, which uses the Atlanta airport as its hub, is suffering the most from cancellations. The airline company’s 14 per cent of total flights, flying across the United States, were cancelled due to the Atlanta storm.

“The airline is working to safely restore operations and assist customers impacted by the severe storms at our Atlanta hub Friday night,” Delta Airlines said in a statement to CNN. The airline warned that several hundred more cancellations are expected to occur over the weekend. “Severe weather overnight is causing delays and cancellations,” the airport said Saturday in a post on X. 

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Heavy winds jolt Atlanta

Powerful winds in Atlanta prompted the evacuation of most air traffic controllers from the control tower Friday evening, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. FAA told CNN that a crew stayed to handle inbound planes.

Additionally, severe thunderstorms also brought quarter-inch hail to the city. As the storm takes over the city, more than 100 Delta aircraft require inspection before they are allowed to fly as a result, according to Delta’s statement. The inspection was completed by Saturday morning. Delta stated that they expect “continued disruption this weekend as we recover safely and as quickly as possible.”

The delays came as millions of people prepared to travel for the Fourth of July. According to AAA estimates, 72.2 million people will travel at least 50 miles or more from home during the holiday period, which starts from Saturday, June 28, until Sunday, July 6, with 5.84 million travellers expected to fly to their destinations.

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As per the authorities, the Atlanta airport is expected to have nearly 400,000 passengers on Friday alone, and more than 4 million passengers over the holiday period. Last year, the Hartsfield-Jackson Airport served more than 100 million passengers, making it busier than London’s Heathrow or the Dubai International Airport.