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Power outages at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson airport causing flight delays in Norfolk

Posted at 4:10 PM, Dec 17, 2017
and last updated 2017-12-17 16:10:19-05

A power outage at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, the world’s busiest airport, is leaving thousands of passengers stranded and planes grounded indefinitely.

Flights in and out of Norfolk, which are to and from Atlanta, are being delayed and canceled.

Current flights that have been affected are: 

  • Delta Air Lines Flight 2602 to Atlanta, GA – Delayed
  • Delta Air Lines Flight 2206 to Atlanta, GA – Cancelled
  • Delta Air Lines Flight 1378 to Atlanta, GA – Cancelled
  • Delta Air Lines Flight 2206 from Atlanta, GA – Cancelled
  • Delta Air Lines Flight 1378 from Atlanta, GA – Cancelled

The Federal Aviation Administration issued a ground stop for flights to Atlanta at 11:30 a.m. ET Sunday, meaning that planes are being held at their departure airports, according to a tweet on the airport’s verified Twitter account. Departures from the airport are delayed because electronic equipment is not working in the terminals, the FAA said.

International flights are being diverted to other airports, US Customs and Border Protection said.

Hartsfield-Jackson handles 2,500 flights and an average of 275,000 passengers daily, according to its website. Because of its size the outage could have a ripple effect on air traffic both domestically and overseas.

Georgia Power has confirmed they have crews in the field working to determine the cause of the problem. The outage affects all airport operations, spokesman Reese McCranie said. The airport is currently working with Georgia Power to figure out the cause of the outage, he said.

Atlanta is the largest hub for Delta Air Lines, which told passengers to check the status of their flights.

“Delta is aware of a power outage at the Atlanta Airport affecting airport concourses and terminal buildings,” spokesman Michael Thomas told CNN. “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 Delta.com. More updates to follow.”

Brittny Dettro said she was waiting to board a flight from Atlanta to Milwaukee when the power went out in Terminal B early Sunday afternoon. She shot this image at 1:10 p.m. ET.

“When the power goes out in one of the world’s biggest airports… yikes! This is crazy ATL!!” she wrote in a Facebook post.