Flights delayed as Philadelphia International Airport experiences partial power outage
As of 11 a.m., 39 flights had been delayed because of the power outage, which began around 9 p.m. Friday. No flights had been canceled, a PHL spokesperson said. The cause of the outage is unknown.
Amid a busy Thanksgiving travel weekend, Philadelphia International Airport was experiencing a power outage at its Terminal D Saturday, delaying flights and inconveniencing travelers.
As of 11 a.m., 39 flights had been delayed because of the power outage, which began around 9 p.m. Friday, including 29 departure flights and 10 arrivals on Delta, United, Spirit, Alaska Air and Air Canada, according to airport spokesperson Heather Redfern.
No flights had been canceled due to the outage, said Redfern, who did not know when power would be restored.
“The cause of the outage is still under investigation,” Redfern said. “It is only impacting Terminal D and not expected to impact the other terminals.”
The outage affected every concession and electronic display in Terminal D. While airlines’ computer systems had been restored by late morning, the ticketing system along with the system that delivers baggage from the ticket counters to planes remained down, Redfern said.
Three arriving United Airlines flights and three arriving Delta Airlines flights Friday night were directed to Terminal A because of the outage, according to Redfern. Additionally, incoming flights scheduled for Terminal D on Delta and United Saturday were moved to Terminal A-West.
PHL announced the outage on social media in posts on X and Instagram just before 5 a.m. Saturday. The airport advised passengers to check with airlines for flight statuses.
Redfern did not know how many passengers had been or would be affected by the Terminal D outage, but said that terminal accommodates fewer passengers than others in the airport.
PHL expected 1.04 million passengers to pass through the airport between Nov. 22 and Dec. 3 for the Thanksgiving holiday, a 12% increase from last year, with 95,000 people expected to travel through the airport on Saturday, Redfern said.
This is a developing story and will be updated.