Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson airport crippled by power outage

Atlanta (CNN)A power outage at the world's busiest airport Sunday left thousands of passengers stranded in dark terminals and in planes sitting on the tarmac, as a ground stop for Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International disrupted air travel across the United States.

The outage, which affected all airport operations, started with a fire in a Georgia Power underground electrical facility, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed said. The electrical fire's intensity damaged two substations serving the airport, including the airport's "redundant system" that should have provided backup power, Reed said. Full power was expected to be restored by midnight.

"We certainly understand that the outage has caused frustration and anger and we are doing everything that we can to get folks back home right away," he said.

Atlanta is the heart of the US air transport system, and the disruption led to flight delays and cancellations across the country.

Here are the latest developments:

- All passengers have been safely deplaned, Atlanta mayor said.

- Delta cancels more than 300 flights on Monday.

- It took more than six hours to restore power to one of seven concourses.

- Nearly 1,000 flights to and from Atlanta were canceled Sunday, according to Flightradar24.

- Southwest, American and United airlines canceled operations in and out of Atlanta for the rest of Sunday.

Cause unknown

At 12:38 p.m., Georgia Power noticed outages in the system that were traced to a fire in underground tunnels where the airport's electric system lives, spokeswoman Bentina Terry said. The fire caused multiple faults that led to the full blackout at 1:06 p.m.

The fire's intensity prevented Georgia Power crews from immediately accessing tunnels to put out the blaze and work on restoring power, Reed added. By 3:30 p.m., crews were able to contain the fire and set to work restoring power. The cause of the fire has yet to be determined, but nothing suggests it was set deliberately, he said.

The blackout led the Federal Aviation Administration to declare a ground stop at the airport, preventing Atlanta-bound flights in other airports from taking off and causing inbound flights to be diverted.

Inside the airport, the outage cut power in the terminals, leaving passengers stranded in the dark as they stood in line at gates and security checkpoints. Brittny Dettro said she was waiting to board a flight from Atlanta to Milwaukee when the power went out in Terminal B. She shot this image at 1:10 p.m. ET.

People used flashlights on their phones to see where they were going, said passenger Heather Kerwin, an Atlanta resident bound for New York.

"There were a few emergency lights on, but it was really dark -- felt totally apocalyptic," she said. "I decided to get the hell out of there."

Some passengers told CNN that airport and airline staff offered no updates as hours passed, leaving people scanning their phones and tablets for information. Stores stopped serving food and passengers were evacuated to alleviate crowding.

Trapped for hours

The outage left passengers sitting in planes on the tarmac for hours.

Jodi Green's Delta flight from the Bahamas landed at 1:15 p.m. ET Sunday. Seven hours later, she was still on the plane. Green said the pilot told passengers that other flights that had ran out of fuel were evacuated before theirs. Despite the circumstances, she said, order prevailed.

"People are calm, laughing, joking," she said. "I'm amazed I've been able to sit here and not lose my mind."

CNN's Betsy Klein spent nearly seven hours in a plane on the tarmac, waiting to move. At one point, the crew said 92 planes were stuck on the tarmac, Klein said. People maintained composure as food and drinks ran out, but by hour seven, patience was wearing thin.

News Courtesy: www.cnn.com