Power surge causes flight delays at Fort-Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport

Cause of power surge remains under investigation

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Fort-Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport was chaotic for a moment Thursday morning due to a power outage.

A power surge that happened about 9:20 a.m. affected all of the airports' terminals, Broward County Aviation Department spokesman Allan Siegel said. Everything from check-in lines to baggage claim were affected.

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"It shut off the equipment and it had to be restarted and rebooted," Siegel said. "This caused some flight delays. Some lights were out and it affected elevators and escalators. "

The lack of power affected TSA lines, Siegel said. As of 2:20 p.m., the baggage claim system on Terminal 1 was still not working. Surveillance cameras and other security systems were on a back up system, Siegel said.  It did not affect airport security, Broward Sheriff's Office Airport Chief Roy Liddicot said.

The cause was unknown, Siegel and Liddicot said Thursday afternoon.

In addition, workers were installing new aluminum canopies for pedestrians walking from terminal to terminal. The $6.5 million project started on Terminals 1 and 2 on August 1st and was set to end next year.