Global IT outage upends Tuscaloosa family’s long-awaited trip to Italy

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ( WIAT ) — A frustrated Florida resident landed at Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport after being grounded in Atlanta for hours in the wake of Friday’s widespread technology outage.

“100% frustrating,” Susan Coleman said. “First time I’ve flown alone, and I never want to do it again.”

Three major airlines — American, Delta and United — at Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport were affected by the global IT outage.

A family Friday morning drove in to Birmingham from Tuscaloosa after learning that its connecting flight from Atlanta to Rome had been canceled. Marcello Minzoni discussed the problems he faced while he and his three boys — ages 6, 10 and 12 — were standing in the Delta ticket line.

“I tried to go on website,” Minzoni said, which got him nowhere. “I tried to call the phone number for Delta, and it says we might get back to you within seven and a half hours.”

He said at that point he decided to drive directly to the airport with his boys to deal with the carrier in person. Their travel plans to Italy have been two years in the making.

“Having it at the last second being canceled is kind of devastating,” Minzoni said.

As it turns out, both his flight to Atlanta and his connecting flight to Rome were canceled on Friday. Minzoni became a casualty of the global IT outage, leaving him at the mercy of the Delta ticket agent.

“It was a long wait: three hours,” Minzoni said. “But once there, they were really helpful, and I understand the situation is extremely difficult for them.”

Minzoni was finally able to rebook his family’s entire trip to Italy on Sunday.

And it’s not just customers trying to fly out of Birmingham. There was one woman who discussed her ordeal trying to travel from Atlanta to the Magic City.

Coleman, a Sarasota resident, said she was on a layover from Tampa when she was forced to disembark in Atlanta.

“They told us that they were not able to like guarantee all the people that were on the flight because they could not get in the system to validate everyone, so the FAA wouldn’t let them fly,” Coleman said.

She said they had to get off the plane and were told to go and stand in line at the Delta terminal. She said they stood in line for four hours before the line started moving.

After hours of waiting, she was thrilled to be on the ground in Birmingham in time to attend a reunion she’s been looking forward to.

“Many people told me just to go back home, and I’m like, ‘No, I haven’t seen these people in 35 years. I will fight through it,’” Coleman said.

As for Minzoni and his boys, they plan to return to the airport Sunday in hopes of finally heading to Italy.

“Very excited,” Minzoni said. “Never lose hope. There’s always some solution.”

The best advice, according to Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport Vice President of Communications Kim Hunt, is to stay in touch your airline before heading to the airport.

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