News Roundup: The Power Outage That Shut Down the Atlanta Airport

"An underground fire caused a complete power outage Sunday afternoon at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, resulting in thousands of canceled flights at the world's busiest terminal and affecting travelers worldwide," report Tim Darnell and Michael King. The power outage lasted 11 hours and canceled thousands of flights at the nation's busiest airport.

The article by Darnell and King provides a timeline of events, working backward from 6:35 am on Monday, when the plane train was still out of service. The beginning of the timeline starts at 3:15, when major airlines began canceling flights en masse. The power outage occurred at 12:55 pm, and the power came back shortly before midnight. One highlight in the timeline is a factoid picked up by news outlets around the country: Chik-fil-A served some 2,000 meals to stranded passengers despite its usual practice of closing on Sunday.

Becca J. Godwin and Janel Davis provide additional local coverage, providing answers to "Frequently Asked Questions" designed toward travelers affected by the power outage.

For traditional news coverage of the blackout, see an article by Emanuella Grinberg, Jon Ostromer, Madison Park, and Christina Zdanowicz for CNN, published after the power had been restored. According to that article, the cause of the fire is under investigation: "Georgia Power said in a statement that its equipment -- a piece of switchgear -- which was in an underground electrical facility, could have failed and started a fire. The incident is still being evaluated, according to the utility."

Another article by Jack Stewart examines the challenges of returning flights into and out of Atlanta to normalcy, in addition to flights around the country, which depend on the hub provided by Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.