Four hurt as Delta plane aborts take-off from snowy Atlanta airport

Four passengers were injured on Friday at Atlanta airport after a Delta Air Lines plane bound for Minneapolis aborted its take-off.

The plane had experienced an engine problem, a Delta spokesperson said.

The incident happened while a snowstorm was causing widespread cancellations and delays in Atlanta, the world’s busiest airport. But officials cannot say if the problem had anything to do with the weather.

The 201 passengers, two pilots and five flight attendants aboard evacuated the Boeing 757-300 using inflatable slides and were taken back to a concourse.

One of the injured passengers was taken to hospital, while three were treated at the airport for minor injuries.

The spokesperson said the flight crew “followed established procedures to suspend the take-off”.

“Nothing is more important than the safety of our people and customers, and we apologise to our customers for their experience,” the spokesperson said.

“We are working to support our customers and get them to their destinations as safely and quickly as possible.”

The Federal Aviation Administration said it would investigate.

All five of the runways at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport were closed for some time on Friday and Delta said at noon on Friday that it had already cancelled about 500 flights at the airport.

The airline said in a news release that snow “began earlier and with heavier intensity than forecast, which reduced de-icing capability and slowed operations.”