Power Restored At BWI Airport After Outage, Delays Expected

BALTIMORE (WJZ) - Black out at BWI. Power is quickly restored after an earlier outage Monday at the airport.

Marcus Washington has more on the ripple effects of the outage.

There were long lines at BWI Monday morning but it had nothing to do with Thanksgiving travel.

"I made sure to be here early so this wouldn't happen. Here we are," said Ramsey Nahawi.

The cause: a power outage just before 10:30 a.m.

The investigation continues into what caused the outage that left Concourse A, B and C powerless, shutting down ticket counters and TSA screening points. A preliminary investigation says that it's due to the failure of an underground electrical cable located on the airfield.

"I actually got a text alert from the airline that it was delayed so that was encouraging," said Mario Catalino. "I didn't know that was the reason."

Airport officials say they are trained and prepared for situations like this.

"We do have emergency generators that can be used to power the airport," said Jonathan Dean, BWI. "Those have to be placed, moved and put in place, and that process was underway when the power was restored."

We're used to long lines during the holiday season but because of the power outage, we're seeing long lines we wouldn't normally see until the day before Thanksgiving.

"We chose today because we wanted to avoid the lines and the crowds. A little ironic, isn't it?" said Cynthia Belechak.

Just after noon, all power was restored, leaving longer lines than expected for hundreds of travelers hoping to make it to their destinations.

"I'm actually flying to Cleveland to see the Cavs," said Sherrod Seward. "I'm wondering if my flight is canceled. I'm not trying to miss Lebron's...it's my first time seeing him since he's been back."

"I was concerned because we're a little late checking in anyway but it didn't matter in the end," said Isaac Haertel.

Announcements were made to customers in BWI terminals, according to The Baltimore Sun.

Anyone traveling out of BWI, check with your airline for any delays because of Monday's power outage.

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