Delta Air Lines passengers had to evacuate onto the tarmac at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport on Friday morning due to an engine issue amid a winter storm, according to the airline.
Flight 2668 had 201 passengers onboard, who were evacuated from the plane via emergency slides and taken back to the terminal via ground transportation, officials said.
The airline did not elaborate on the engine issue, but a winter storm has been plaguing the Atlanta metropolitan area with snow and ice Friday. The National Weather Service warned residents to stay home if they did not need to be out on the roads.
Flight 2668 was meant to depart for Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport at around 7 a.m., according to FlightAware.com. Takeoff was suspended at around 9 a.m., per the Federal Aviation Administration, who told NBC News they will investigate the engine issue.
Delta said their flight crew, which included two pilots and five flight attendants, “followed established procedures to suspend the takeoff” of the Boeing 757-300 plane.
“Nothing is more important than the safety of our people and customers, and we apologize to our customers for their experience,” Delta said in a statement. “We are working to support our customers and get them to their destinations as safely and quickly as possible.”
Four passengers reported minor injuries, according to a statement from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. One was transported for medical attention and three were treated on the scene.
“Operations at ATL are delayed due to the incident and the ongoing severe weather,” the airport said on X. “The aircraft and the runway are expected to be cleared shortly.”
On Friday, 98 million people across the South are under winter weather alerts as a storm brings snow and ice to the region.
The Atlanta metropolitan area is forecast to receive around 1 to 2 inches of snow and 0.10 to 0.25 an inch of ice that can lead to power outages and severely disrupt travel. The mix of ice and snow is expected to stop at around 10 p.m.
Over 2,600 flights traveling into, out of and within the U.S. have been canceled and more than 2,500 have been delayed as of Friday afternoon, according to FlightAware.com. Hartsfield-Jackson Airport is in the lead, with almost 900 cancelations and more than 430 delays.
More than 4,000 utility customers are without power in Georgia as of Friday afternoon, according to PowerOutage.us.
Kathryn Prociv and Rima Abdelkader contributed.
