US carrier Delta Air Lines has inspected over 100 aircraft after severe storms, including hail, disrupted operations at its Atlanta hub.
The storms, on the evening on 27 June, resulted in hundreds of flight cancellations.
Meteorological data from the airport indicated thunderstorms, large hailstones, winds gusting up to 28kt, and heavy rain.
Delta says the hail led to more than 100 of its aircraft requiring overnight inspections, which maintenance personnel completed by the morning of 28 June.
Chief customer experience officer Erik Snell adds that windshear was also present, with reports of microbursts.
He says the storm forced the evacuation of Atlanta’s control tower as well as a temporary power loss.
While Delta’s operation is recovering, Snell says disruption over weekend is likely to persist.
“Our operations teams are actively getting crews back on schedule,” he says, adding that pilots, cabin crew, and other staff are “going above and beyond” to restore services to normal.
Atlanta is the world’s busiest airport. It handled 108 million passengers last year of which just under 80 million – nearly three-quarters of the total – were Delta’s.
Delta operates some 900 flights at the hub daily.
