A small fire at Delta’s computer center was partly to blame for the network failure that caused massive cancellations worldwide on Monday, a spokesman for the carrier said. The fire was extinguished without assistance from the local fire department, the spokesman said Thursday, declining further comment. A power-control module at the company’s Atlanta command center failed and caught fire, leading to the electric surge and a loss of power to the company’s computers, CEO Ed Bastian told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Also, about 300 of Delta’s 7,000 servers weren’t wired to backup power, a vulnerability that the company hadn’t been aware of, Bastian told the newspaper. Delta cancelled more than 2,100 flights through Wednesday after the computer-network failure, which started around 2:30 a.m. Monday. The company’s computers were down until about 8:30 a.m. The airline reported 25 cancellations as of 9 a.m. Thursday, some of which were weather-related.<br/>
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Contract talks between Delta and its pilots have been suspended for three weeks by a federal mediator because of a lack of progress. The two sides were notified of the break Aug. 3 by the National Mediation Board, according to a letter posted on the union’s website from John Malone, chairman of the Air Line Pilots Association at Delta. The hiatus will allow each side to assess its bargaining position and goals for the talks, he said. “On the negative side, this is an indication that the NMB believes our efforts at working towards a deal have stalled,” Malone said. “On the positive side, this is an opportunity for all of us to pause, step back and consider what we want to accomplish in these negotiations.” The federal panel is scheduled to meet with Delta and union negotiators Aug. 26 in Washington to determine if each is ready to resume talks. “Delta is committed to reaching a timely new agreement that is market-based, sustainable, and that also ensures Delta pilots have an industry-leading package of pay, benefits and work rules,” the carrier said. The mediation board didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The aviators rejected a tentative agreement in July 2015, and a mediation board member joined talks earlier this year. The union represents 13,000 Delta employees.<br/>