LAX power outage halts security screening, delays flights

Much of Los Angeles International Airport lost power for about an hour Wednesday afternoon, securing security lines, delaying flights and trapping people in elevators and on at least one plane.

The blackout affected most terminals, LAX officials said Social Media Posts, leaving some airport facilities, traffic lights, and other systems offline. The airfield was operating normally and the teams were working with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Energy, according to LAX.

Airport officials warned that the Transportation Security Administration also stopped screening passengers in most terminals and that departing flights could be delayed due to jet bridge power failures.

Just after 3 p.m., LAX officials tweeted that power had been restored or was about to be restored in most places and that security checks were to be resumed soon.

The DWP was still investigating the incident and the cause was unknown, according to spokeswoman Carol Tucker.

Crews on site rerouted power to LAX and restored service after an outage of about 50 minutes, the DWP said in a tweet around 3:20 p.m

Nicky Bernal, 41, who got to the airport about an hour and 40 minutes early for her flight to El Paso, Texas, said about six people were trapped in the elevators next to her. They waited 40 minutes for rescue by firefighters and let them out from the outside.

All escalators were shut down, security checks were down and stores had locked their doors, Bernal said.

“We were told that the terminals were also out of power, so they are no longer boarding,” she added.

Power came back around 2:52 p.m. and people started cheering, Bernal said.

While security machines were restarted, passengers tried to check if their flights were on time.

“Nobody knows,” she said. “Everyone has checked their flights and nothing has been updated yet.”

A traveler at LAX tweeted that people were stuck on a plane that had arrived but could not connect to the passenger boarding bridge.

John Rivera, who was waiting for his Southwest flight to Baltimore, said all kiosks and shops were closed. “You couldn’t buy a sandwich or get a cup of coffee or anything,” he said.

Rivera said the airport was still restarting the systems about 20 minutes after power was restored.

“I have a 45 minute layover in Phoenix. So if we’re even a little bit late, I’m down,” he said.