More than 50 flights were cancelled and more than 150 flights were delayed at Baltimore/Washington Thurgood Marshall International (BWI) airport when a fire and downed power line near the facility caused a power outage in many parts of the airport.
According to several reports, the exact cause of the outage specifically at BWI was unclear, but facility crews believed the outage was tied to underground cable failures or overloaded aging equipment. Emergency generators were activated in some areas, though delays in deployment exposed logistical gaps in the immediate response.
Thousands of passengers were impacted by the power shutdown, which included power to TSA security devices, lighting, HVAC, escalators, and other equipment at the airport. Emergency power was used to make announcements to the passengers stuck in limbo, but the flight display screens had all gone dark.
Some airlines were forced to use “air stairs” to deplane passengers from arriving aircraft due to the jetways not being able to operate, according to CBS Baltimore. The airport’s parking garage was also affected by the power outage, and many drivers were trapped in the garage, unable to exist.
Airport personnel distributed water to passengers in the airport while facility and electrical crews worked to restore power and run through equipment start-ups.
Greg Zimmerman is senior contributing editor for FacilitiesNet.com and Building Operating Management magazine.
