A spokesman told TPG that Delta Airlines canceled dozens of flights on Thursday.
More disruptions could affect travelers on Friday.
Late Thursday afternoon, the wholly owned subsidiary worked to evacuate 45 Delta Connection jets, so those aircraft could inspect their Wi-Fi systems.
Delta predicts up to 150 flights to be cancelled on Thursday.
As of 9:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, the total number of cancelled departures was close to 75.
The airline acknowledged that “some limited damage” could last until Friday.
As of Thursday evening, nearly three of the Friday departures had been cancelled.
“We apologize to customers of the Delta-connected flights that were worked hard by our regional partners on Thursday,” Delta said in a statement to TPG. “Our customer service team is working directly with customers to find alternatives to get them to their destination as soon as possible, while Endeavor’s technical operations team works hard to return to the aircraft service.”
The Delta told TPG that the problem that caused the inspection was not a flight safety issue.
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Like its top competitors, Delta relies on regional partners to serve smaller markets.
Endeavor operates a fleet of CRJ-900 regional jets that operate flights sold by Delta. The region’s airlines operate a vast network of Delta-connected flights in a handful of East Coast and Midwest Delta hubs, including Delta’s Hartsfield-Jackson-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) Mega-Hub.
In its combination’s mainline and regional fleet, Delta’s network includes nearly 1,300 aircraft – meaning 45 aircraft pulled from the service account for 3% of its fleet.
Read more: Flight cancellation or delay? This is the next step
What to do if your flight is cancelled
Delta admitted Thursday’s interruption was under its control, just like maintenance issues.
The airline provides affected stranded passenger accommodation, voucher and rebooking assistance.
Remember that when your flight is cancelled, you can request a refund under the U.S. Department of Transportation policy if you choose not to accept rebooking or other accommodation.
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