Atlanta Hartsfield Airport was hammered by a thunderstorm and an eventual hailstorm on Friday night. Many aircraft were diverted, delayed, or cancelled, passengers were stranded, and the ATC tower was evacuated. The delays look like they’ll linger throughout this weekend.
Among those affected during the storm were several Frontier flights attempting to fly into Atlanta. I was following along on Flightradar24 and observed several planes sitting on the taxiway for several excruciating hours after arrival.
A couple of circumstances to note regarding this storm:
- The ATC tower lost power and was evacuated. This closed the airport entirely; I know flights weren’t going to get in and out of ATL anyway with the storm, but this effectively confirmed that the airport would not reopen for a lengthy time.
- The hailstorm required many aircraft to undergo inspection before departing. This slowed the process of the airport reopening, and many inbound flights arriving after the storm had to wait a long time for a gate to open.
The second point had a compounding effect on Frontier’s operations amid the storm.
Frontier flight F93600 went through some of the worst. The flight departed Denver at 14:13 local time and arrived in Atlanta at 18:59 local time after a 2-hour 46-minute flight.
Unfortunately for them, this was right around the time the storm hit, and the airport had closed. The tower was evacuated and lost power, putting all aircraft to a halt and effectively closing the airport. Although they had arrived at their destination, they were due for a much longer time on the Airbus A320.
Even after the airport had reopened, F93600 was still stuck on the taxiway. This was because Frontier only has a few gates at Atlanta, and they had to wait for those gates to clear before they could enter. With the hailstorm requiring aircraft to go through additional inspection, it took a while for the gates to open up.
At around 23:30, I had counted a total of 14 Frontier flights on the taxiway waiting for a gate. They weren’t the only airline dealing with this either; other airlines had planes waiting for gates, too. Atlanta was overpacked.
Flight F94316 from Memphis (originally from Los Angeles) was the last Frontier flight of the night to land in Atlanta and enter this realm of hell. All other flights after this were diverted to nearby airports.
Finally, at around 0:20 local time, 5 hours and 19 minutes after landing in Atlanta, Frontier flight F93600 parked at a gate, and passengers were able to get off.
It had been over 8 hours since they left Denver. 8 hours on a Frontier A320 seat, with a hailstorm rocking your plane and the uncertainty of not knowing when you can get off? I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy.
Frontier Flight F94316 might’ve been the worst of them all. This flight departed from Los Angeles and diverted to Memphis during the storm over Atlanta. They then proceeded to fly to Atlanta after the airport reopened, only for them to sit on the taxiway for over 4 hours.
This flight had to go through the same thing the other flights did, except that it was the last Frontier flight to arrive following the storm.
Flight F94316 finally parked at a gate at around 3:00 in the morning, a brutal 11 hours since departing from Los Angeles. I’ve flown long-haul flights many times, but imagining myself on a crammed Frontier seat for 11 hours is crazy, not to mention all of the uncertainty and stress that must come with it.
The DOT does have rules for tarmac delays, where airlines are required to allow passengers to deplane when they’re stuck on the ramp or a taxiway of an airport. There are exceptions to this, however.
The raw text states that: “Exceptions to the time limits are allowed only for safety, security, or air traffic control-related reasons.” I’d assume these events last night would be categorized as an ATC-related exception.
The Glamour of Summer Travel
Weather events are a natural part of summer air travel. I’ve been involved in a couple myself over the past year, although it was nothing compared to the level we saw last night in Atlanta.
I always recommend booking morning flights over afternoon and evening flights, especially during the hot summer season. There’s always a better chance to avoid thunderstorm activity and other related delays in the early morning.
I’m aware that last night’s storm has hindered operations today, especially with Delta. The best of luck for those trying to navigate this event.
Featured image by the author.
