Officials are still investigating the cause of a power outage that plunged much of Reagan National Airport into darkness Wednesday night, but power was restored shortly after 11 p.m. See photos. Reagan National Airport tweeted about an airport-wide power outage shortly before 10 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2018. (Courtesy Brigid Evans via Twitter @be_brig) Courtesy Brigid Evans via Twitter @be_brig Travelers at Reagan National Airport sit in the dark on Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2018. (Courtesy Samuel Breslow via Twitter @sdkb42) Courtesy Samuel Breslow via Twitter @sdkb42 Airport officials did not say when they expected power to be fully restored. (Courtesy Samuel Breslow via Twitter @sdkb42) Courtesy Samuel Breslow via Twitter @sdkb42 Reagan airport’s main concourse had largely returned to normal by dawn on Thursday. (WTOP/John Domen) WTOP/John Domen The lights were back on at Reagan airport on Thursday morning. (WTOP/John Domen) WTOP/John Domen The departures board as of around 5:30 a.m. on Thursday, showing no major delays or cancellations hours after the power outage had been resolved. (WTOP/John Domen) WTOP/John Domen ( 1 /6) Share This Gallery: Share on Facebook. Share on Twitter. Share via email. Print. WASHINGTON — A power outage plunged much of Reagan National Airport into darkness Wednesday night, though it was restored shortly after 11 p.m. Charles Penn, a spokesman for Dominion Power, said Thursday that an underground equipment failure was the culprit. The airport tweeted about the outage around 9:50 p.m., describing the outage as “airport wide.” The outage affected air traffic control. The airport tweeted around 10:40 p.m. that flights were operating but that boarding and deplaning was slow since the power outage was affecting mechanical systems. One of the generators did start smoking at one point, bringing firefighters to the scene, but it was resolved. “Dominion Power is working understand the root cause of that power disruption,” said Andrew Trull, a spokesman for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, who added that Wednesday’s loss of power was “an absolutely rarity” for the city’s main airport. On social media, passengers wrote about being personally handed their luggage by airport personnel due to the loss of baggage carousels. Others tweeted about having to navigate a busy terminal in the dark. Baggage claim can’t do anything to help find luggage or take claims at the airport because all their computers are down. “Call the 800 number,” the American Airlines woman said. “There’s nothing else I can tell you” — Heather Timmons (@HeathaT) August 16, 2018 You can only tell it’s the main terminal by the few lights on the top of the tower. The entire rest of the terminal is dark from the outside. @Reagan_Airport #dca #poweroutage pic.twitter.com/kJtpvZRAbr — Larissa Fair (@LYF108) August 16, 2018 WTOP’s Alejandro Alvarez and Keara Dowd contributed to this report.<doc-sep>The incident raised questions about the design and maintenance of the system, which is managed by Georgia Power. Investigators said that outage occurred after a fire in an underground electrical facility destroyed two substations. The blaze was triggered by the failure of switchgear equipment in the underground electrical facility. A switchgear helps to manage the flow of power. There was backup equipment in place, but it was located in an adjacent room and was also damaged in the fire.<doc-sep>Today’s Headlines The most important news stories of the day, curated by Post editors and delivered every morning. By signing up you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy<doc-sep>
A power outage plunged Washington’s Reagan National Airport into darkness for about an hour late Wednesday. The incident did not have a major impact on flights, but it did lead to some dramatic scenes at the close-to-downtown Washington-area airport. Passengers at the airport took to social media with pictures of dark terminal areas. “Really? A power outage at the airport? *sigh*,” a customer tweeted at 9:42 p.m. on Wednesday. "Great video of the moment the lights went out @Reagan_Airport," tweeted another. Despite the electricity problems – an issue with a power feed from Dominion Virginia Power was cited – the situation had a minimal impact on flight operations at the airport. “Arrival and departure flights were halted temporarily, but resumed operations after a short time,” reports WUSA-TV of Washington. “The runway lights were still working, as well as some of the lights on the outside.” Andrew Trull, a spokesman for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority that operates that airport, told NBC that “a majority of the flights (had) already landed or departed" by the time the power went out a little before 10 p.m. local time. The biggest issue for passengers appeared to be collecting luggage, with the outage affecting both the baggage carousels and the lights surrounding them. “Lone guy handing bags out by hand calling flight numbers,” tweeted an airport customer Wednesday night. "I'd like to get my luggage," another woman, who was not identified, said to NBC. "It's out there somewhere." ARCHIVES: Vietnam Airlines shows off first 787 at D.C.'s National Airport