Power outage at Atlanta airport creates travel headaches for Philly travelers

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. (WTXF) - Passengers at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport were left in the dark when the lights went out around 1 p.m. Sunday, December 17.

Georgia Power officials say the cause may have been a fire in an underground electrical facility.

At Philadelphia International Airport, there have been no arrivals from Atlanta or departures to Atlanta since the power outage caused the ground stop. That left some passengers stranded.

"When I arrived here, I received a text message that my flight was canceled and I was trying to figure out what's going on," Sheng Zhong, a stranded passenger said.

Zhong had plenty of company wondering the same thing. Zhong arrived from London for a connection at Philadelphia International. Because of the power outage at Hartsfield-Jackson, one of the world's busiest airports, he was stuck.

"I'm thinking about either finding a hotel close to here or just staying here," Zhong said.

The outage in Atlanta created a ripple effect of cancellations at airports everywhere. By early evening, American, United and Southwest canceled all flights to and from Atlanta. Delta canceled or diverted its flights.

Meanwhile, passenger Jeronte Latham, in Philly for the weekend, sits in Terminal D until he can get home.

"Was heading back to Atlanta home from the tournament. I'm waiting for my flight. My flight isn't until tomorrow. Not much I can really do about it except wait here," Latham said.

While passengers in Philadelphia waited it out, passengers in Atlanta say it was unnerving to see the entire airport without power and at a complete standstill.

"Ya know with terrorism around the world, we were thinking something like that was going on. But, when we got out of our Uber and saw this, someone said take your time, all the power is out at the airport," Kate Murphy, a stranded passenger in Atlanta said.

Power is slowly being restored and flights are expected to resume Monday, December 18. But, as expected, people traveling may want to call ahead to be certain.