Power outage at Austin airport leads to flight delays

Traffic is backed up on Texas 71 East near Austin-Bergstrom International Airport after a power outage at the airport on Wednesday Sept. 7, 2022. (Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via AP)

An early morning power outage Wednesday at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport caused flight delays that continued even after electricity was restored.

The airport reported it lost power shortly before 5 a.m., and soon after said flights had been stopped. The lights were back on by 8 a.m., but airport officials told passengers that flights would be delayed.

The airport shut down roadways leading to the airport, which led to traffic backups on a nearby freeway. Austin police asked people to stay in their vehicles until the roadways reopened.

Transportation Security Administration checkpoints were open shortly after 8 a.m., but flight delays continued.