A 50-minute power failure hit Los Angeles International Airport this afternoon, halting passenger screenings and potentially delaying flights. The Department of Water and Power said its crews have restored service and that “the outage is being investigated.”
“Most of our terminals are impacted by the loss of power and crews are assessing the issue,” per a tweet on the official LAX account. “Some departing flights may be impacted due to no power to jet bridges. Please allow extra time and check your flight status as we learn more.”
The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement, “The FAA’s air traffic control tower has electrical power and is able to provide regular services.” So far, the federal Department of Homeland Security is referring all questions to local authorities.
The story has the attention of national news media, as CNN led its 3 p.m. PT newscast with it. The outage at one of the world’s busiest airports follows repeated intentional attacks on power stations across the country in recent months, which remainu nder investigation by the FBI and regional law enforcement. There were more than 100 such attacks on the grid in 2022, with the most recent occurring in Moore County, N.C., in December. Authorities determined that high-profile attack and outage at two power stations that left thousands in the dark for several hours was the deliberate result of gunfire.
MORE TO COME…