Austin-Bergstrom International Airport experienced a power outage on Wednesday, causing flights to be delayed and entrances to be closed.
As a safety precaution, the airport shut down the roads to the terminal to prevent new passengers from arriving to a building with only the minimal power offered by an emergency backup generator.
Thousands of people were left in “the pitch black” for several hours, according to witness reports. The airport apparently had no emergency backup system.
Austin Energy said in an email that underground equipment malfunctioned around 4:30 a.m., leading to the outage. Crews completed repairs and restored power to the airport around 8 a.m.
Over the Labor Day weekend, Austin-Bergstrom expected between 27,000 and 33,000 passengers to depart each day, airport spokesperson Bailey Grimmett told the Statesman last week. Anything over 27,000 people is considered a busy day.
Full Story: Austin airport loses power; morning outage leads to canceled flights
