LAX travel: Power outage prompts rescreening at terminal 1, causes massive lines for travelers
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Passengers were rescreened following the overnight power outage at LAX, causing massive lines for travelers at terminal 1 early Thursday morning.
Airport officials said they were rescreening passengers at terminal 1 "out of an abundance of caution." The concern was that during Wednesday's power outage, there was the possibility that some passengers and bags were not screened.
This process triggered long lines for travelers, who were already frustrated due to previous delays and cancellations. The TSA checkpoint has since returned to normal operations, and lines have diminished.
Airport officials said Wednesday in a press release that the "power bump" occurred at 6:29 p.m. Generators brought back most of the electricity immediately, but the equipment took some time to be restarted.
Officials had problems getting terminals 1, 7, and 8 immediately back online. The L.A. Department of Water and Power was on scene to fully restore power.
LAX officials said 11 Southwest flights were canceled and 15 were delayed Thursday morning. Wednesday night, about 21 flights were canceled as a result of the power outage. both departures and arrivals. Eighteen were Southwest and three were United flights.
Southwest passengers were advised to visit Southwest.com for re-booking information.
Terminals 7 and 8 were later fully restored, according to the airport.
United Airlines diverted most of its flights to San Francisco. Travelers can call United customer service at 800-864-8331 for more information.
Terminal 1 was the last terminal to be restored, according to the airport, but Southwest flights remained canceled.
By about 10 p.m. power had been restored to all terminals.
