Power Outage Snarls Travel at Atlanta Airport

UPDATE: 11:55 p.m. ET December 17, 2017

Power has been fully restored at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport after an outage snarled traffic for most of Sunday and caused many passengers to be stuck on the tarmac for hours.

The outage, reportedly caused by a fire in an electrical facility, affected the airport's main power system as well as the redundant system, according to Fox News, plunging much of the facility into complete darkness for a large part of Sunday afternoon.

The Federal Aviation Administration subsequently called for a full ground stop, meaning inbound flights to Atlanta were being held on the ground at their point of departure. All inbound international flights were diverted to other airports, according to a tweet from Customs and Border Protection (CBP.)

By 4:30 p.m., the airport tweeted that power had returned to Concourse F and that Georgia Power was working with "great urgency" to restore power through the rest of the airport. Just after 7 p.m. local time, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed tweeted that all passengers had been safely de-planed.

According to FlightAware.com, nearly 1,200 flights were canceled on Sunday. Delays and more cancelations are expected to continue into Monday as airlines work to re-accommodate affected passengers.

Delta Air Lines, which is based in Atlanta, announced it had canceled more than 900 flights on Sunday and had an additional 300 cancellations on the books for Monday.

"Most of the 300 cancellations Monday are early morning, inbound flights to Atlanta to give the operation there an opportunity to more quickly return to normal," wrote Delta in a statement on its website. "Delta’s flight schedule in Atlanta is expected to return to normal by Monday afternoon."

The outage also caused the airline to cancel its much-publicized final flight of its 747 fleet.

"Delta's expected last scheduled flight of the 747 was unfortunately canceled Sunday due to an inability to fully staff the flight with its required four pilots. Customers have been given hotel rooms, meals and have been rebooked on an extra flight from Detroit to Seoul-Incheon for Monday morning. Delta exhausted all options to prevent the cancelation and apologizes to the customers delayed and inconvenienced.

United Airlines has also tweeted that some Atlanta flights will be affected on Monday. Additionally, the airline is waiving cancelation fees and fare differences for anyone traveling to, from or through Atlanta on or before December 22, 2017.

The flight changes could wreak havoc on what is already being called the highest year-end travel season on record,

Los Angeles International Airport, for example, has already announced that at least two early-morning flights to Atlanta on Monday appear to be canceled. In total, LAX reported six cancelations of outbound flights to Atlanta as well as an additional eight inbound cancelations.

Passengers are advised to check with their airlines to confirm flights before leaving for the airport.

ORIGINAL STORY

A power outage at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is snarling air travel to and from the world's busiest airport.

"A power outage has impacted several areas in the airport. #ATL officials are working to remedy the situation. Additional updates to come” tweeted the airport around midday on Sunday.

A power outage has impacted several areas in the airport. #ATL officials are working to remedy the situation. Additional updates to come

— Atlanta Airport (@ATLairport) December 17, 2017

The Atlanta airport later tweeted that the FAA has called a ground stop at the airport and that all inbound aircraft are being held at their points of departure until the ground stop is cleared.

The FAA has set a ground stop for flights into #ATL due to the outage. A ground stop means flights to ATL are held at departure airports.

— Atlanta Airport (@ATLairport) December 17, 2017

Planes already in the air were apparently being allowed to land, but then being held on the tarmac as they waited for an available gate, according to a passenger tweeting from Terminal B.

Power still out at Terminal B Atlanta Airport. Raining. Planes appear to be landing, but held waiting for gates. No one loading or departing. Several fire & emergency vehicles dashed by. Viewed from windows at gate. People are calm. Only emergency lighting.

— Helen Tjader (@TjaderHelen) December 17, 2017

Meanwhile, Customs and Border Protection tweeted that all inbound international flights are being diverted to alternate airports.

Due to #PowerOutage at @ATLairport diversion plan for International arriving flights continues. This means diverted International flights will land at other airports. #Atlairport

— CBP Southeast (@CBPSoutheast) December 17, 2017

READ MORE: Delta Pilots Automated Boarding in Atlanta

Delta Air Lines, which handles the majority of flights from the airport has informed passengers that to expect flight disruptions until the airport is back to normal status.

Delta is aware of a power outage at @ATLairport affecting airport concourses and terminal buildings. Flight disruptions are expected as a result and Delta customers are encouraged check the status of their flight via the Fly Delta Mobile App or https://t.co/lVlOjYwO0A https://t.co/mJ8NhFTGW9

— Delta (@Delta) December 17, 2017

Atlanta Fire Rescue, which is on standby, noted that there are delays with flights, at security checkpoints and with taxiing aircraft. It also reported that Georgia Power and airport officials are working quickly to fix the problem.

*Alert* Flights, security checkpoints, and plane taxiing delays reported at @ATLairport due to major power outage. Airport officials & @GeorgiaPower are working to quickly fix the problem. Atlanta Fire Units on stand by. #Airport #Poweroutage #ATLAirport #Hartsfield

— Atlanta Fire Rescue (@ATLFireRescue) December 17, 2017

This is a breaking story. More details will be provided as they become available.

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