Atlanta Airport Power Outage Causes Ripple Effect With Hundreds Stranded At Detroit Metro
DETROIT (WWJ) - The power's back on but the effects of the outage are still being felt at airports across the country -- including Detroit Metro Airport.
Officials say power has been fully restored at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
The airport announced on its Twitter page minutes after its midnight deadline, "Power has been restored on all concourses. 5,000+ meals are being delivered to passengers. Trains will be operational soon."
The world's busiest airport lost power earlier in the day, halting all incoming and outgoing flights and leaving thousands stranded - with the cancellation of close to a thousand flights.
Hundreds of metro Detroit passengers are stranded Sunday after a major power outage forced a ground stop for all flights at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. At least 40 flights were canceled.
The outage impacted nearly 1,000 flights to and from Atlanta, according to airport officials. About 40 flights coming to Detroit Metro Airport were canceled, according to the website FlightAware.com.
In Detroit, the lines were long and patience seemed to be packed in the carry-on.
Mike Dehar is from Atlanta and was diverted to Detroit -- he was put up at a Howard Johnson's Hotel -- flying on Delta, he tells WWJ's Charlie Langton that they've been attentive to customer needs.
"They've been great. They've worked really hard to try to get us on other flights - to accomodate us for the night. Now they are working to get us here this morning and it's crazy and there are a lot of extra people here. A lot of planes got dumped here in Detroit last night so, I know they are working hard - the Delta folks have been great."
Tony Farmer is from England but lives in Korea -- he was among the hundreds who became unexpected guests in the city of Detroit. "I think we were over Winnepeg when they said
'you are going to Detroit' - then I got in at 3 (a.m.) and by the time I cleared everything at 11 o' clock last night, they said, 'yes, you'll be on a 7 a.m. fight.' But the automated ticket machines don't accept my passport so I'm back in the queue."
Georgia Power had said in a statement that a fire caused extensive damage in an underground electrical facility, impacting substations serving the airport. The cause of the fire is not yet known.
Metro Airport officials advising passengers to check the status of their flights before heading to the airport.
Find your flight on DTW Airport Tracker.
(© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
