A power surge early Monday morning at Denver International Airport caused security screenings to halt and trains to passenger gates to stop as airport staff attempted to get computer systems functional again.
The airport’s electrical supply surged shortly after 5 a.m. causing power to go out momentarily, though it was restored almost immediately after, airport spokeswoman Emily Williams said.
The surge caused the airport’s trams to terminals to stop working and the security checkpoint at the north end of the airport to halt. Even though power returned, airport staff were still working at 6:15 a.m. to get all operations moving again, Williams said.
“It just takes some time for all of our systems to come back on,” she said.
Maintenance staff at the airport were working with Xcel Energy to investigate what caused the surge, Williams said, but they don’t believe it was connect to ongoing construction at the airport.
Operations at the security checkpoint had returned to normal by 6:15 a.m., but employees at Transportation Security Administration continued to meter the line of people attempting to pass through security due to crowding at the train platform, where all passengers must go to get to their gates.
The airport’s website showed wait times at security gates between 22 and 42 minutes just before 7 a.m.
The trains are running, Williams said, but with less cars than normal as staff worked to return others to the track after the surge.
Passengers took to Twitter to express their frustration. Photos from people at the airport show crowds of hundreds waiting for the trains.
https://twitter.com/ct2573/status/1054340365648646144
@DENAirport what is going on with your trains this morning?!? This wait is insane pic.twitter.com/wpXuxHMxp3
— Caitlin Brown (@cebrown10) October 22, 2018
Williams hadn’t heard of anybody missing their flights due to the surge and said the airlines were aware of the delays for people trying to pass through security.
She did not have an estimation of when operations would return to normal.
“Hopefully soon,” she said.
