Georgia Power: Airport Electricity To Be Restored By Midnight

The Associated Press | WABE

December 17th, 2017

The Atlanta airport reported a power outage Sunday.

David Goldman / Associated Press

Georgia Power says that it expects power to be restored at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport by midnight.

In a news release Sunday evening, the utility said the “the issue may have involved a fire which caused extensive damage in a Georgia Power underground electrical facility.” The cause of the fire was not known, the statement says, but it impacted underground facilities and substations serving the airport.

The sudden outage grounded scores of flights and stranded thousands of passengers during one of the busiest travel times of the year.

Passengers were left in the dark when the lights suddenly went out in the early afternoon. Airport spokesman Reese McCranie said all airport operations were affected, and outgoing flights were halted. Additionally, the Federal Aviation Administration implemented a “ground stop” for flights headed to the airport. That means flights heading to Atlanta were held on the ground at their departure airport.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection Service said on Twitter that due to the power outage, international flights were being diverted to other airports.

The Hartsfield-Jackson airport – serving 104 million passengers a year – is the world’s busiest, a distinction it has held since 1998. The airport serves an average of 275,000 passengers daily, according to its website. Nearly 2,500 planes arrive and depart each day.

 

Related

Top Stories