PARIS – Delta CEO Ed Bastian arrived in Paris Wednesday morning for the opening of the Olympics as his airline struggled to recover from a five-day meltdown that left an estimated half-million customers stranded by thousands of flight cancellations.

After a global tech outage that started Friday forced Delta to cancel nearly 8,000 flights on over the past several days, the company said it expects minimal cancellations on Wednesday and “normal” service on Thursday. But it could still be days before all of Delta’s passengers whose flights were canceled will be able to make it to their destinations, given the busy summer travel season and the lack of available seats on many flights. The company has also been unable to reunite many customers with their luggage.

Meanwhile, Bastian traveled to Paris for the Olympics, accordingly, where Delta is a sponsor of the US Olympic Team. “Ed delayed this long-planned business trip until he was confident the airline was firmly on the path to recovery,” said a statement from Delta to CNN “As of Wednesday morning, Delta’s operations were returning to normal. Ed remains fully engaged with senior operations leaders.” (CNN)…[+]

MEXICO – At least six workers have died in an explosion and fire at a tequila factory in Mexico, local authorities said. Two others were injured in the disaster, at a Casa Cuervo distillery in the town of Tequila, Jalisco state. Casa Cuervo is the world’s largest producer of the Mexican spirit, according to its website, encompassing the Jose Cuervo and Tequila 1800 brands, among others.

“The incident involved the explosion of a tank car,” Jalisco’s civil protection agency said, adding that the fire ignited three additional tank cars, each with a capacity of 219,000 liters. The cause of the fire is not yet known, authorities said. At least 40 firefighting and civil protection teams responded to the incident. In a statement, Casa Cuervo said it was assisting authorities with their investigation and would reinforce security controls at its facilities.

The state’s Civil Protection agency said that another fire broke out at the factory Wednesday morning in a storage area for cardboard and other materials, but that fire was quickly controlled and no additional risks were reported. The mayor of Tequila, Alfonso Magallanes, shared a post on his Facebook page urging residents not to approach the factory due to the ongoing situation.

Jalisco state is the largest producer of agave, the key ingredient in tequila, generating nearly 75% of the nation’s annual crop. The town of Tequila, which gives the liquor its name, is a center for tourism, receiving an average of more than one million visitors annually from Mexico and abroad, according to data from the mayor’s office. (CNN)…[+]

MONTANA  –  Visitors were forced to flee as a huge hydrothermal explosion shot steam and debris into the air at Yellowstone National Park.

Videos show dozens of people running as a large column of grey mud shoots from the ground, sending rocks and boiling water high into the air around Biscuit Basin.

The National Parks Service reported no injuries but said the nearby boardwalk and benches were damaged in the blast.

The service closed the area, a few miles from the Old Faithful geyser.

A US Geological Survey photograph shows a huge grey area of debris thrown out by the eruption.

The survey said that a hydrothermal explosion is caused by water flashing to steam in a shallow hydrothermal system.

Surrounding rocks are blown apart as the steam expands. The often violent events result in the “rapid ejection of boiling water, steam, mud, and rock fragments”.

They can reach heights of 1.2 miles (2km) and leave huge craters. Most of the ejected material is called breccia – angular rocks cemented by clay.

The survey said hydrothermal explosions can pose significant local hazards and damage or destroy thermal features.

In Yellowstone, the explosions are not related to volcanic activity.

Similar eruptions occurred in Biscuit Basin in 2009, 1991 and after an earthquake in 1959. (BBC)…[+]