Fog may further complicate Atlanta travel following major airport power outage
Following a major power outage at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International airport on Sunday afternoon, power was restored around 11:30 p.m. EST on Sunday evening. However, Monday morning's weather conditions may result in further delays.
Hundreds of delayed and 1,150 canceled flights stranded travelers in the airport and on the tarmac as passengers were unable to disembark into the crowded terminal.
After 10.5 hour-long international flight departing at 4:55 am ET, we now approach hour 5 on the tarmac at Atlanta. No food. But everyone is holding it together. pic.twitter.com/tcPkvGtdP9
— Ellen L. Carmichael (@ellencarmichael) December 18, 2017
Airport officials reported that Georgia Power attributed the outage to a fire in an underground electrical facility.
As the nation's busiest airport, flight delays at Hartsfield-Jackson are expected to reverberate through hubs around the country. Airlines will be forced to reschedule, reroute and re-book flights through at least Monday.
A damp and foggy forecast for the Atlanta area through Monday morning could lead to further travel delays.
"Visibility at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport is expected to fall to around one mile early Monday morning due to fog and drizzle, but could dip to one-half mile for a brief time," warned AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Mike Doll.
However, "unless the visibility falls to one-quarter of a mile or lower, weather conditions are not likely to cause significant flight delays," Doll said.
"A vast majority of commercial flights can take off when the visibility is one-half mile. Depending on the type of aircraft, some planes may not be allowed to land due to low visibility," he said.
This could result in complications on Monday morning as airport officials work to get everyone to their destinations. All delays, diversions and cancellations can be found here.
Let there be light! Crowds cheer as power restored at @ATLairport pic.twitter.com/cIrS2JDlsN
— AJC (@ajc) December 18, 2017