Power outage at Atlanta airport grounds flights and causes 'literal pandemonium'

Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport is the busiest hub in the US

A Delta Airlines gate is seen at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport July 30, 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia. / AFP PHOTO / Brendan Smialowski

Chaos erupted at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta after a complete power outage grounded flights on Sunday afternoon.

Passengers at the United States busiest hub were plunged into darkness while automatic doors would not open and baggage could not be retrieved.

“Literal pandemonium at the @ATLairport…baggage claim stuck, passengers can go no where! Which means traffic can’t either. GBI and other law enforcement on site now. Talk about delays!” someone wrote on Twitter.

According to reports to Fox News, the blackout was caused by a construction crew cutting a power line.

“A power outage has impacted several areas in the airport,” the airport said in a tweet.

In response, someone tweeted that it “should be embarrassed about how long it took you to make an announcement on Twitter to calm passengers in terminals.”

Fox reported that the power outage has forced the Federal Aviation Administration to suspend outgoing flights and implement a “ground stop” for incoming flights.

The airport reported on its Facebook page that departures were delayed because airport equipment in the terminals was not working.

The loss of power was also affecting more than just flights at the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.

One woman tweeted that the “electric exit doors [are] unable to open,” and that “passengers can go no where!”