Power Problem, Storm Delays Hundreds of Flights

By Traci Griffith

Associated Press Writer

CHICAGO (AP) - Hundreds of Continental flights were delayed Tuesday evening because of a Texas power outage while hundreds of people at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago scrambled to salvage travel plans disrupted by an earlier storm.

The temporary outage at Continental's main operations center in Houston scrambled computers handling the flow of air traffic. The airline said 300 to 400 flights across the country would be affected. Continental has hubs at Cleveland, Houston and Newark. N.J.

Meanwhile, Chicago Department of Aviation spokeswoman Monique Bond said more than 100 flights were canceled at O'Hare by midday Tuesday and more delays were possible. She said 368 flights were canceled Monday during the height of a powerful storm that saw winds of up to 50 mph. O'Hare handles about 2,400 flights daily.

Juan Malek, 20, was on his way to Uruguay when he was trapped in Chicago by Monday's storm. He spent the night in the airport, along with hundreds of other stranded passengers, but United Airlines ran out of cots, so he slept on the floor.

Ahmad Brunson, on his way to Greensboro, N.C., through Chicago, said the plane sat on the runway for more than an hour while it waited for a gate.

"I thought United would have solved its problems once it came to an agreement with its pilots, but I guess you can't anticipate the weather," he said.

The National Weather Service said Monday's storm dumped nearly 3 inches of rain on the Chicago area, knocking out power and airport radar equipment. A backup radar system took over until repairs were made.

The storm made worse an already miserable summer for air travel out of O'Hare, largely because of United Airlines' impasse on a new contract with its pilots union. The airline has canceled more than 23,000 flights since April due to pilots who refused to work overtime. United and the pilots agreed on a new contract last month. --- http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGID7GOD2DC.html

-- Carl Jenkins (Somewherepress@aol.com), September 13, 2000