When will the power come back on at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and what caused the power to go out? The airport has been in the dark since 1 p.m. ET on Sunday, December 17 with thousands of people stuck in planes, on the tarmac, and inside the terminal.
According to CNN , almost 700 flights in and out of the Atlanta Airport have been canceled due to the power outage, including flights scheduled on United, Southwest, Delta, American Airlines, and several other airlines. Travelers are being told to leave the airport, although a mandatory evacuation has not been implemented yet.
On Sunday evening, AJC reported that people in the D Terminal smelled what seemed to be an electrical fire earlier today. However, the official Atlanta Airport Twitter account stated that the electrical fire is “not confirmed” and they are “working with Georgia Power to identify and fix ASAP.”
In addition to planes being grounded and the lack of power inside the terminal, the transit system inside the airport is shut down. In a live report from the Atlanta Airport, CNN reporter Kaylee Hartung reported that people had to walk from the D Terminal to another terminal when it was evacuated after some passengers reported the smell of burning rubber.
There are multiple reports that indicate there is no backup generator in use at the airport and hours after the outage, people are still in the dark in planes, in the terminals, and on the airport’s tarmac.
In addition to flights being canceled that are due to fly out of Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, CNN reported that flights scheduled to land at the Atlanta airport are being held on the ground at their departure airport.
Passengers are taking to social media to share videos and photos of the outage, but many are simply trying to find out why the power has been out so long and when they will be able to catch their flight out of Atlanta.
BREAKING: Prayers for Millennials with dead cell phones at Atlanta Hartsfield Airport and no way to charge up… They now know how life was in 1982. #atlantaairport #AtlPowerOutage pic.twitter.com/QTZ5TSQJP9
— Joe Floccari NewsGuy (@JoeFloccari) December 17, 2017
Anthony Foxx, the former transportation secretary in the Obama administration, tweeted about the situation, calling the power outage at the Atlanta airport “a total and abject failure” after being stuck on a Delta flight for hours. Its response to a massive power outage on Sunday.
“Total and abject failure here at ATL Airport today,” Foxx tweeted. “I am stuck on @delta flight, passengers and crew tolerating it. But there is no excuse for lack of workable redundant power source.”
Follow the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport Twitter account ( @ATLairport ) for the latest details on the Atlanta airport power outage.
Updated information on the ATL power outage. pic.twitter.com/yu0MMsRqZE
— Atlanta Airport (@ATLairport) December 17, 2017
