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Power restored at Philadelphia International Airport after 16 hours and numerous flight delays

Power was restored to PHL's Terminal D around 1:30 p.m. after an outage that began around 9 p.m. Friday. No flights had been canceled, but dozens were delayed, a PHL spokesperson said.

A power outage at Philadelphia International Airport's Terminal D caused dozens of flight delays. Here travelers wait in check-in lines Saturday as screens were out and conveyor belts that move luggage from check-in to the planes were stalled.
A power outage at Philadelphia International Airport's Terminal D caused dozens of flight delays. Here travelers wait in check-in lines Saturday as screens were out and conveyor belts that move luggage from check-in to the planes were stalled.Read moreTyger Williams / Staff Photographer
    by Layla A. Jones
    Updated 
    Published 

A 16½-hour power outage at Philadelphia International Airport’s Terminal D delayed flights, inconvenienced travelers, and disrupted airport operations during a busy Thanksgiving travel weekend before ending Saturday afternoon.

Power was restored to Terminal D around 1:30 p.m., PHL spokesperson Heather Redfern said. The cause of the outage remained under investigation Saturday evening, Redfern said.

As of 5 p.m., 42 flights had been delayed because of the power outage, which began around 9 p.m. Friday, including 28 departure flights and 14 arrivals on Delta, United, Alaska Air, and Air Canada, according to Redfern. No flights had been canceled due to the outage, Redfern said.

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.

» READ MORE: Over 872,000 Philadelphians are projected to hit the road for Thanksgiving, and other big holiday travel stats

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 on 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 were affected by the power outage but said Terminal D accommodates fewer passengers than others in the airport.

PHL expected 1.04 million passengers to pass through the airport between Nov. 22 and Tuesday for the Thanksgiving holiday, a 12% increase from last year, with 95,000 people expected to travel through the airport on Saturday, Redfern said.

Staff writer Frank Kummer contributed to this article.