Last Updated Dec 17, 2017 6:56 PM EST
ATLANTA — A power outage grounded flights Sunday at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson Airport, but the cause of the outage is not known. The outage left thousands of passengers sitting in the dark on a busy day for holiday travel.
Officials from the Georgia Power utility issued a statement Sunday night that says the company “expected to have power restored to the airport by midnight tonight.”
The statement also mentions that the cause of the power outage “may have involved a fire which caused extensive damage in a Georgia Power underground electrical facility. The fire was safely extinguished by fire crews …”
CBS News transportation correspondent Kris Van Cleave reports that the airport has backup generators that allow for minimal operation but the outage is impacting the airport’s ability to operate substantially.
Airport spokesperson Reese McCranie told The Associated Press the outage occurred early Sunday afternoon. He said all airport operations are being affected and that outgoing flights were halted.
A view inside Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson Airport on Sunday, Dec. 17, 2017.
Brian Reinert/Twitter
McCranie says some incoming flights are being diverted to other airports in the region.
The airport said on its Facebook page that departures were delayed because airport equipment in the terminals is not working.
The Federal Aviation Administration, meanwhile, has implemented a “ground stop” for flights headed to the airport. A ground stop means that flights headed to Atlanta are held on the ground at their departure airport.
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