The power is out at the busiest airport in the world, Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL). The outage has completely shut down the airport. Thousands of passengers are stranded and more than 450 Delta flights are cancelled. ATL is Delta’s main hub. In fact, a ground stop is in effect which means no planes can come or go. Arriving and departing flights on all airlines are being diverted to other airports.
Live coverage is embedded below from NBC 11 in Atlanta
Update on the ATL power situation pic.twitter.com/EctZveNI9p
— Atlanta Airport (@ATLairport) December 18, 2017
Here’s the latest:
The power has been out since 1:00 PM. The passengers on flights that landed at the time of the outage were stuck on the tarmac for hours. Right now, many of them remain stranded inside the airport.
Update: #FAA will retain normal staffing in the Air Traffic Control Tower at @ATLairport throughout the night. Air traffic controllers will be ready to handle flights as soon as they resume.
Please contact the airport and airlines for information about their operations.
— The FAA (@FAANews) December 18, 2017
One stranded passenger told WSB-TV that they are being evacuated as of about 6:00PM in groups of 50 to try to get to the Park and Ride area. They are asking people to stay away from the airport until further notice so they can work with Georgia Power to determine how this happened. It is unknown if the power will be restored in the next couple of hours.
Flight cancellations and disruptions are expected as a result of the @ATLairport power outage. Delta customers are encouraged to check the status of their flight via the Fly Delta mobile app or https://t.co/yQj0byWQnW before heading to the airport.
— Delta (@Delta) December 17, 2017
Delta passengers can check the status of their flight on https://www.delta.com/ or the Fly Delta mobile app. A travel waiver is being given for customers traveling to, from or through Atlanta today.