Slashdot Mirror
This Week 'IT Issues' Ground Delta Airlines' Flights (cnbc.com)
Delta Air Lines has been forced to cancel at least 150 flights, and expects to cancel even more. But "the IT department is working to rectify the situation as soon as possible," they tweeted Sunday -- more than four hours ago. Long-time Slashdot reader SonicSpike quotes CNBC:
Delta Air Lines U.S. domestic flights were grounded on Sunday evening due to automation issues, according to an advisory from the Federal Aviation Administration... "Delta teams are expeditiously working to fix a systems outage that has resulted in departure delays for flights on the ground," the airline said in the statement. "Flights in the air remain unaffected". [And their international flights were unaffected.]
Delta also grounded 2,000 flights last summer after a computer outage caused by a power outage in Atlanta. At the time Reuters reported that "Airlines will likely suffer more disruptions... because major carriers have not invested enough to overhaul reservations systems based on technology dating to the 1960s." And sure enough, just last week, another "IT issue" forced United Airlines to ground all their domestic flights.
Delta also grounded 2,000 flights last summer after a computer outage caused by a power outage in Atlanta. At the time Reuters reported that "Airlines will likely suffer more disruptions... because major carriers have not invested enough to overhaul reservations systems based on technology dating to the 1960s." And sure enough, just last week, another "IT issue" forced United Airlines to ground all their domestic flights.
As a developer, I can't imagine even bothering to answer an offer of employment from an airline these days. I spent considerable time looking for better options last year before deciding to take an offer and leave my employer of 20 years (HPE), and there were several potential employers I did avoid; work for any airline would have been a huge red flag for me. The way they've cut corners over the last few decades would definitely not make it a good place for career advancement.
I suspect the quality of their hires in IT would be limited by their reputation as employers and probably tend toward the desperate only looking to fill immediate financial needs on a temporary basis. I can't say this would lead to the most inspired work effort.
DL just recently bought their software back in house Two things I know is that the Holiday development freeze is over and they do software loads occasionally. If I had to be a betting man, one of their loads went bad.