Blackout Nightmare at Atlanta Airport Shows Grid's Weakness
- Thousands of passengers stranded after 11-hour power failure
- Outage adds to tumultuous year for utility-owner Southern
A traveler waits in dark at Hartfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Sunday, Dec. 17, 2017, in Atlanta. A sudden power outage at the airport on Sunday grounded scores of flights and passengers during one of the busiest travel times of the year.
Photographer: Branden Camp/AP Photo
A sudden power failure at the world’s busiest airport that stranded thousands of passengers and snarled U.S. holiday air traffic underscores the vulnerability of the nation’s grid.
The 11-hour outage was caused by a fire in an underground electrical facility that also cut backup supplies to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, said Southern Co.’s Georgia Power utility. Frustrated passengers were left scrambling in the dark while more than a thousand flights were canceled.