Chick-fil-A Steps Up To Help Feed Those Stranded At Atlanta Airport
ATLANTA (KDKA/AP) – Some passengers on social media called it a Christmas miracle when restaurant Chick-fil-A came to the rescue of those stranded at Atlanta's airport.
The restaurant chain broke their own rule of not being open on Sundays to help those stranded when the power went out at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson Airport.
Chick-fil-A provided thousands of food for stranded passengers.
Chick-fil-A CEO Dan Cathy even personally helped hand out sandwiches.
Update: Power has been restored to Concourses A, B, F, T and the @ATLairport atrium. We have provided 2,000 meals so far. Special thank you to Dan Cathy and @ChickfilA for their support. #atlairport
— Kasim Reed (@KasimReed) December 18, 2017
The City of Atlanta said on its Twitter page that it would provide shuttle service to the Georgia Convention Center for travelers in need of a place to stay and Chick-fil-A would be provided.
Passengers at the airport were left in the dark when the lights went out at around 1 p.m. The outage halted all outgoing flights, and arriving planes were held on the ground at their point of departure. International flights were being diverted, officials said.
According to a Georgia Power statement, a fire in an underground electrical facility may have been responsible for the outage. The cause of the fire was not known.
"No personnel or passengers were in danger at any time," the statement said.
No areas outside of the airport were affected by the power loss. The utility said that there are "many redundant systems in place" to ensure the power supply to the airport and that such outages at the airport "are very rare."
That wasn't enough to comfort Jeff Smith, 46, of Pittsburgh, who ended up stuck in a plane on the tarmac for three hours after it landed.
"This is the worst experience I've ever had at an airport," he said.
(TM and © Copyright 2017 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)