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Power back on at Atlanta airport, but travel woes remain

By WFTV Web Staff
By WFTV Web Staff
While power has been restored to the world's busiest airport in Atlanta, the travel woes will linger for days.
Thousands of people were stranded Monday morning at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, where more than 1,000 flights were grounded just days before the start of the Christmas travel rush.
A sudden power outage caused by a fire in an underground electrical facility brought the airport to a standstill about 1 p.m. Sunday.
FLIGHT TRACKER: Check the status if your flight

ORLANDO, Fla. — There was no flying in or out of the airport for about 10 hours.

Delta, with its biggest hub operation in Atlanta, was the hardest hit.

The issue caused serious problems for passengers across the country, including those at Orlando International Airport.

Frontier, Southwest and Delta flights in and out of OIA were canceled or delayed throughout the day Sunday and lingered into Monday afternoon.

By 5 a.m., a total of 28 flights--16 arrivals and 12 departures--were canceled out of OIA.

Many passengers were stuck at the airport for hours.

“I understand life happens. Power outages, things like that, but let’s handle customer service a little better,” said passenger Debbie Hamberry.

Traveler Sonja Buchanan has been trying to get home to Arkansas since Sunday.
“Something like this happens and we really have to use our critical thinking skills to try to get around that and it’s a little unsettling,” she said.

Robert Mann, an aviation consultant and former American Airlines executive, said it likely will be Tuesday before Delta's operations return to normal, and for passengers "it could be most of the week" because there aren't many open seats on other flights in the last week before Christmas.

A spokesperson for the The Greater Orlando Aviation Authority said in a statement Monday that "The Greater Orlando Aviation Authority has a backup system for power and energy generation. The system is tested monthly in conjunction with The Orlando Utilities Commission on a scheduled basis."

If passengers are stuck on the plane more than two hours, airlines have been required to give food and water. If the wait is longer than three hours, people are allowed to get off the plane. However there are loopholes that allow airlines to skirt some of the rules and make their own rules about compensating for travel issues.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Cox Media Group

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