A power outage at the international airport in the southern U.S. city of Atlanta has disrupted all flights in and out of the hub.
The outage began around 1 p.m. At 7:32 p.m., the airport tweeted that power had been restored to one concourse, and that officials expected the outage to be fully resolved by midnight.
The Federal Aviation Administration implemented a "ground stop'' for flights headed to the airport. A ground stop means that flights headed to Atlanta are held on the ground at their departure airport until Monday evening.
Incoming flights — domestic and international — are being diverted to other regional airports.
According to the website FlightAware, which tracks flights in real time, departures from the airport were delayed for approximately an hour and 30 minutes.The site said as of Sunday evening, 776 flights were cancelled to and from Atlanta, and another 525 flights were delayed. An additional 134 flights scheduled for Monday have also been canceled.
From the scene: A VOA reporter stranded in Atlanta sent this short video.
Fox News and the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported the outage was caused by a construction crew accidentally cutting a power line. But the airport said on its Twitter account that was not confirmed. Georgia Power, the area utility, said a fire damaged in an underground electrical facility that serves the airport. The cause of the fire is being investigated.
The airport is one of the busiest in the world, with more than 2,500 daily arrivals and departures, bringing more than 250,000 passengers through the airport on an average day.
