Power Outage Hits Atlanta Airport During Busy Holiday Season

Power Outage Hits Atlanta Airport During Busy Holiday Season
Reuters
12/17/2017
Updated:
12/17/2017

Flights were delayed at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Sunday after a partial power outage, officials said, leaving passengers at the world’s busiest airport stranded in dim terminals.

The Federal Aviation Administration said it was forced to hold back flights bound for Atlanta, while departures from the airport were also delayed and some planes were held at the tarmac.

International flights to Hartsfield were diverted to other Atlanta-area airports, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said on Twitter.
 The FAA flight control tower was operating normally, but departures were delayed because airport equipment in the terminals was not working, the FAA said in a statement.
The cause of the outage was not immediately known, according to the airport and Georgia Power, which provides electricity to the sprawling facility. The utility had crews at the airport, spokesman John Kraft said.

Photos posted on social media showed passengers sitting in partial darkness in one terminal.

“Stuck on a plane at Atlanta Airport as the power is out there ... bedlam inside and boredom out here!” Twitter user Jack Harris wrote.