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Power Goes Out At LAX, Temporarily Hobbling Operations
The lights of a shuttle bus streak past the large LAX letters that welcome travelers in February 2002.
(
David McNew
/
Getty Images
)
Topline:
LAX officials reported most terminals were affected by a loss of power at the airport, one of the busiest in the world. The outage appears to have lasted for less than an hour.
What happened? It's not immediately clear but at about 2:40 p.m. Wednesday the official LAX account tweeted that LA Dept. of Water and Power was "assessing a power issue impacting some LAX facilities at this time."
At that time they said operations were normal. Within minutes of that post, they reported that TSA had stopped screening passengers in most terminals. At that point, they said most terminals were affected and they cautioned travelers to leave extra time.
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What's going on now? Most terminals were back online by about 3:10 p.m. and LAX officials said they expected TSA to restart screenings shortly.
Federal Aviation Administration spokesperson Tony Molinaro says, "The FAA’s air traffic control tower has electrical power and is able to provide regular services."
At 3:21 p.m., LAX officials tweeted that their crews were "able to make switches in the field to reroute power to LAX and restore service," and that power was being restored. The cause of the outage, which lasted for approximately 50 minutes, is still under investigation.
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But the game has changed: Congress voted to eliminate funding for public media across the country. Here at LAist that means a loss of $1.7 million in our budget every year. We want to assure you that despite growing threats to free press and free speech, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust. Speaking frankly, the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news in our community.
We’re asking you to stand up for independent reporting that will not be silenced. With more individuals like you supporting this public service, we can continue to provide essential coverage for Southern Californians that you can’t find anywhere else. Become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission.
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