MOLINE-- The first steps off the Delta aircraft at the Quad City International Airport were a relief to many passengers flying in from Atlanta.
“Our plane landed right as the electricity was going out so about 1:45 yesterday afternoon. We were stuck on the tarmac. Luckily, we got off in about two and a half hours. There were a lot of planes that were stuck on the tarmac for six hours,” says Karen Brenot, she and her family were on their way back from Disney World.
“I didn’t sleep, the kids did though. We had a stroller, the baby slept in the stroller and our 5-year-old slept on the floor,” Brenot says.
Power is back on at the Hartsfield-Jackson airport after a blackout stranded thousands Sunday, December 17. The Federal Aviation Administration grounded at least 1,500 flights.
The power outage was caused by a fire in an underground electrical facility.
As of Monday December 18, three flights from Atlanta were scheduled to arrive at the Quad City International Airport on time. A 6 a.m. departure was canceled because of the blackout.
“Because we didn’t really have that many flights impacted, I think things were probably able to be worked out in advance. That way people could make accommodations and get on their way, says Quad City International Airport’s Kathy Rochau.
For Michael Weatherford, the inconvenience in Atlanta proved to be more troublesome due to being visual impaired.
“There were no workers, all the workers got sent home so all it was were the passengers. So I kind of had to fend for myself,” says Weatherford.
The Hartsfield-Jackson Airport is the busiest in the world. About 275,000 passengers pass through each day.