Atlanta Airport Reports 400 Delayed Flights

Hundreds of delayed flights are being reported to and from the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. 

Delta Flights were especially affected and were on a ground delay at the Atlanta International Airport on May 11. 

The entire airport was initially on a ground delay from the Federal Aviation Administration in the morning on May 11, but that was lifted, and it was replaced with a notice for a "ground delay" for Delta flights that are leaving from the contiguous U.S. within 1,200 nautical miles of Atlanta, GA.

According to FlightAware, the Atlanta airport is reporting more than 400 delays, a roughly even mixture of arrivals and departures. That was just before 1 p.m. ET. About 40 minutes later, Flight Aware was reporting 507 delays. 

The ground stop for general departures at Atlanta appears to be leading to the hundreds of delays. In an earlier notice, the FAA said the problem was a “runway equipment issue.” The FAA assured travelers it was being worked on. 

"The FAA has temporarily slowed arrivals into Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport," the FAA statement said, indicating it would last until about 12:30 p.m. ET, which it roughly did as scheduled. But that created other back ups. 

Affected flights included those heading to Atlanta from other airports, especially on the East Coast but also extending to other areas of the country. 

The FAA notice says that the delays are expected to last through 3:59 p.m. on May 11. 

How long are the delays? The FAA reported that the average delay people can anticipate is about 35 minutes between 1-2 p.m.

Travelers can expect the delay times to shrink as the day progresses, to about 26 minutes between 2-3 p.m. ET, and down to about 11 minutes from 3-4 p.m., according to data posted by the FAA.

Atlanta is one of the busiest airports in the U.S. 

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