Call it the blackout felt ‘round the world. When the lights went out for 12 hours last Sunday at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport thousands of flights were directly and indirectly affected. Delta Airlines, headquarted in Atlanta, was forced to cancel 1,400 flights and lost anywhere from $25 million to $50 million in revenue. In an exclusive interview with the AJC, CEO Ed Bastian said his company plans to recoup those loses.
Although Delta may have lost the most money, countless business travelers as well as vacationers and college students on winter break missed connections and were stranded in Atlanta and other airports worldwide. While everyone wants compensation for inconvenience, lost time, health concerns and for some lost wages, the big question is who should they get it from?
Passengers are filing claims with airlines and Delta, at least, has said it will have a conversation with officials at Hartsfield-Jackson as well as Georgia Power.
As the investigation continues, many feel the airport is at fault for not having a plan in place for a total power outage. “Why leave planes stranded on the tarmac? Why weren’t the water fountains working? Why w asn’t anyone at the airport communicating to the stranded passengers?” one frustrated traveler wrote to the AJC.
Others can’t believe it took Georgia Power so long to get things up and running. And criticize the company for not having concrete answers as to what happened days later.
“There is no excuse for lack of workable redundant power source,” former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx tweeted about the situation.
We’d like to know what you think. Who is at fault? And should those affected be compensated? If so, who should pay?
Send responses to communitynews@ajc.com. Comments may be edited for length and/or clarity and may be published in print and/or digital platforms.
LAST WEEK: WHAT SHOULD BECOME OF BUCKHEAD’S PINK PALACE?
The new owner of the 1926 Italian baroque mansion in Buckhead popularly known as the Pink Palace plans to raze part of the residence and subdivide its lot; a newly built house could block the sight of the mansion from West Paces Ferry Road. “Is nothing sacred in Atlanta?” one person commented to a Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation Facebook posting.
Here’s what readers had to say:
While I do not know about "sacred," I believe that only caring people standing up can save what is important. Evidently, the recent demolition of the house in Peachtree Heights West was not enough warning. I am hoping that the residents around the Pink Palace will move to have that area designated as a district that should be protected because of its history and its special features. We are fortunate to have a commissioner of planning who understands the importance of a sense of place, an appointment we can thank our outgoing mayor for as well as the city council that affirmed that appointment. But we all have to step up and show what we think is important. There is not a single local historic or landmark neighborhood district north of Midtown, only a conservation district where the urban design commission has an advisory role. – Alida C. Silverman
Last week, I was appalled to see the Pink Palace boarded up with one upstairs window wide open. Your article on Sunday solved the mystery of what was going on. I understand the new owner has the right to do what he wishes, but I beg him to restore the house appropriately. Certainly, he should be able to remove the 1980s addition, but to build another house in front of it would destroy the vista from West Paces Ferry Road. These beautiful mansions make Atlanta special. If the owner is allowed make changes that are not appropriate to the house and setting, the Pink Palace will suffer the sad fate of the Lucas mansion, the last private home on Peachtree Street. – Mary Sue Murray
I moved here from Savannah about a decade ago. The thing I miss most is that someone in Savannah had the foresight to restore many of the beautiful, old buildings. Atlanta should be about more than concrete and steel. Let's find ways to preserve the past and make it work for the future. I bet that if the owners were creative they could find a way to make that work. — Anonymous
David Ibata for the AJC
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