AirTran Airways on Monday began a planned upgrade of its internal reservations and airport check-in systems that required a pre-planned shutdown of the system from 10 p.m. Monday through 4:30 a.m. on Tuesday. However, things didn't go exactly as planned, and AirTran began experiencing passenger check-in problems early Tuesday. Those, in turn, caused rollover delays into the early afternoon. Agents may have been called by their clients as the airline was reporting long lines at several airports, but primarily at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. The airline apologized to customers, said it was using manual processes to board flights as needed, and that its aircraft dispatching system was unaffected. AirTran also said that by late Tuesday it had resolved many of the problems related to the cutover, it was still experiencing periodic outages. Customers were urged to check in earlier than normal, both at the airport and online at [www.airtran.com].
