ATLANTA AIRPORT NEWS
ATLANTA AIRPORT NEWS

Hartsfield-Jackson to spend $130 million on generators in wake of outage

Isabelle Jacobs waits for her flight to New York in a dark terminal at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport Sunday, December 17, 2017. The Airport is reporting a loss of electricity. The FlightAware site reports the airport is currently holding all inbound flights due to an equipment outage. STEVE SCHAEFER / SPECIAL TO THE AJC
Isabelle Jacobs waits for her flight to New York in a dark terminal at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport Sunday, December 17, 2017. The Airport is reporting a loss of electricity. The FlightAware site reports the airport is currently holding all inbound flights due to an equipment outage. STEVE SCHAEFER / SPECIAL TO THE AJC
By
May 14, 2018

Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport plans to spend $130 million on power generators in the wake of a massive December power outage that disrupted operations.

A measure to be considered by the Atlanta City Council seeks approval of financing, including $130 million for the installation of generators.

VIDEO: Previous coverage of this issue

Power has been restored at the world’s busiest airport after a massive outage Sunday afternoon left planes and passengers stranded for hours.

Airport officials had previously considered temporary portable generators, but Hartsfield-Jackson general manager Roosevelt Council said the $130 million will go toward permanent power generators.

The airport manager has said he wants to set up a system of emergency generators powerful enough to keep the airport's concourses in operation.

The Atlanta airport is served by two substations that sit six miles apart, with cables that run underneath the airport to each concourse.  Those cables were damaged by a Dec. 17 fire triggered by the failure of Georgia Power switchgear equipment, resulting in the loss of power throughout the world’s busiest airport starting just after 1 p.m. and lasting until close to midnight.

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As business team lead, Kelly Yamanouchi edits and writes business stories. She graduated from Harvard and has a master's degree from Northwestern.

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