FAA: few delays at Hartsfield; Delta, AirTran cancel flights

By Kristi E. Swartz

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

AirTran has increased the number of flights it has canceled into and out of Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport to 72.

A spokesman said travelers should expect that number to increase as snow continues to fall around metro Atlanta.

Delta has scrubbed 550 departures from Atlanta, a spokesman told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. That number should hold steady for a while, spokesman Anthony Black told the AJC.

Airline and airport officials are telling travelers to go online and check the status of their flight before going to the airport.

With the exception of flights going to San Fransisco -- Hartsfield was still not reporting many delays as of 5 p.m. Friday, according to the Federal Aviation Administration's Web site. Flights to San Fransisco are delayed for up to one hour, the FAA said.

The airport is also reporting delays for travelers heading to Houston and to Dallas, the FAA said.

Delta said it would scrub some flights at its Atlanta hub and on routes into and out of Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and South Carolina.

This is the second time in two months that Delta and other airlines have proactively canceled flights out of Atlanta in an attempt to minimize delays from the weather. In January, the airline cut 200 flights the day before snow and ice hit the Southeast.

Delta is encouraging people who are traveling Friday to postpone their trip or book a different route, if possible. The airline is allowing travelers to make a one-time change to their flights without fees – if the tickets are changed by Feb. 16.