power outage

Pittsburgh Int’l Airport goes off the grid

A few years ago, there were some major power outages at airports that wreaked havoc with air travel in those regions.

The list of airports affected was not inconsequential.

Power outages and equipment failures affected Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), Washington’s Reagan National Airport (DCA), and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).

New York’s LaGuardia Airport also got hit. And so did John Wayne Airport in Orange County, CA, Philadelphia International Airport, and McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas. New Orleans International Airport lost power twice due to high winds associated with Tropical Storm Olga.

And in response, some airports moved ahead with plans to go off the grid and create their own independent electricity sources, or microgrids.

Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) was one of those airports. And in 2019 PIT declared its intention to become the first major U.S. airport to create a self-sufficient energy system – or microgrid. Their plan includes using only energy sources (solar and natural gas) from its own property.

PIT made good on its promise and this week, becoming the first airport in the world to be completely powered by natural gas and solar energy from its own, now-live microgrid.

Crews started construction in July 2020 and completed the project on schedule even as the pandemic stalled the aviation industry last year.

The power generated at PIT by its microgrid is now the primary power supply for the entire airport.

This includes the terminals, the airfield, a Hyatt hotel, and a Sunoco station. The microgrid will generate power from onsite natural gas wells and 9,360 solar panels across eight acres.

The airport remains connected to the traditional electrical grid as an option for emergency or backup power if needed.

We are declaring this our Airport Amenity of the Week.

Recovering from that power outage at Atlanta Int’l Airport

Updated: Monday morninng, December 18

The power went back on at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International around midnight last night after a fire in an underground faclity knocked out power airport-wide around 1 p.m. Eastern time on Sunday afternoon.

On Sunday all operations at the airport ground to a halt with thousands of passenger stuck inside the terminal into darkness and on planes.

Delta alone canceled more than 1,000 fllights and hundreds of other had to be diverted or held on the ground at their departure cities. At least 300 Delta flights are already canceled for today.

 

Getting everything back in order and everyone to their intended destination will be a mess as we head into a busy holiday travel week.

Delta Air Lines, American AirlinesJetBlue,  Southwest and United Airlines are among the airlines posting alerts about refunds and change fee waivers as a result of this event.

As always, check with you airline before heading to the airport for a flight that may be affected by this incident.

 

Headaches for Delta fliers today

delta plane

 

Big headaches for travelers flying on Delta Airlines today and – no doubt – for the next few days – or week.

According to the airline:

“A power outage in Atlanta, which began at approximately 2:30 a.m. ET, has impacted Delta computer systems and operations worldwide, resulting in flight delays. Large-scale cancellations are expected today…” 

The airline is posting updates and has issued a waiver for passengers with Delta flights scheduled August 8 through 12.  Tickets must be reissued by Aug 12 and rebooked travel must begin by August 12.

“When rescheduled travel occurs beyond August 12, 2016, the change fee will be waived. However, a difference in fare may apply.”