Hourslong power outage shuts down Austin-Bergstrom International Airport

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(AUSTIN, Texas) — A power outage shut down the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas’ capital city for hours on Wednesday morning, causing flight delays and road closures.

The airport announced via Twitter shortly before 5 a.m. local time that teams were investigating an unresolved power outage in the Barbara Jordan Terminal, the airport’s main terminal that hosts both international and domestic flights. In the meantime, all roadways to the terminal were temporarily blocked and no flights were allowed to depart, the airport said.

⚠️ #AUSAlert Power outage: There is currently a power outage in the terminal. Airport teams have been dispatched to investigate the cause of the outage. If you are in the terminal, please follow instructions by AUS staff. We will post updates here. Thank you for your patience.

— Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) (@AUStinAirport) September 7, 2022

Austin Energy, which provides electricity to the capital city and surrounding areas, confirmed via Twitter that its crews were at the airport “assessing the situation.” All nearby power lines are underground, the utility company said.

#AUSAlert: We are currently investigating a power outage at the airport. All power lines near the airport are underground. Our crews are on-site assessing the situation. Currently, we do not have an estimated time of restoration. We will provide updates as they became available. https://t.co/Vvp2Z8AJe8

— Austin Energy (@austinenergy) September 7, 2022

More than three hours later, the airport announced that power was restored to the terminal and it was working with local police to reopen the roadways.

“Please check your flight status before heading out to the airport as delays continue to be expected,” the airport tweeted. “Airport roadways are still closed at this time and we will update once they reopen.”

POWER UPDATE: @austinenergy has restored power to the terminal. TSA has begun screening passengers and we are working with APD to reopen airport roadways.

Please check your flight status before heading out to the airport as delays continue to be expected. pic.twitter.com/WNSYe5XADw

— Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) (@AUStinAirport) September 7, 2022

TSA checkpoints are open. Passengers are queuing at airline ticket counters for airline assistance. Please connect directly with your airline for your flight status.

Airport roadways are still closed at this time and we will update once they reopen. pic.twitter.com/Hg0B4ifEnl

— Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) (@AUStinAirport) September 7, 2022

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