Would ABIA be prepared if a blackout occurred?

AUSTIN, Texas - Holiday travel plans turned into holiday frustration at Atlanta-Hartsfield International Airport Sunday.

More than 1,000 flights were grounded and passengers stranded for hours after a power outage.

“I want to express my sincere apologies to the thousands of passengers whose day has been disrupted,” said Kasim Reed, Atlanta mayor.

Georgia Power said a fire at an underground facility caused the outage. The fire also reportedly knocked out the backup system as well. The outage grounded flights nationwide and caused delays and cancelations, even at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.

“When anything happens to impact travel in and out of Atlanta, it's going to impact airports that fly into that city,” said Kaela Harmon.

So what if a similar situation occurred in Austin?

“In the unlikely event that something would happen, we have a system of generators that would automatically kick in. So we do have a backup system that would make sure things continue to run smoothly,” said Harmon.

But what if the generators fail? 

“Then we do have backup systems for the generators. We also have electricians on site,” said Harmon.

Airport officials say Austin Energy would arrive quickly and work with airport police to fix the problem quickly. It would still be a headache for passengers grounded and in the air. But the biggest priority would be safety.

“There is all types of technology on the airplane to make sure the plane still lands safely, even if there is a blackout at the airport,” said Harmon.