- Power failure at world’s busiest airport led to grounding of 1000 plus flights
- Mayor of Atlanta asked Chick-fil-A to help out with providing meals for travelers
- The company has a tradition of not opening on Sundays but waived that to help
- More than 5300 sandwiches were handed out by Chick-fil-A at the airport
Chick-fil-A abandoned its long held practice of not opening on Sundays to help feed passengers stranded at Atlanta airport by a power failure.
Thousands of people were stranded at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the world’s busiest, where more than 1,000 flights were grounded just days before the start of the Christmas travel rush.
Chick-fil-A spokeswoman Jackie Jags explained that the company responded to a request to give sandwiches to the stranded and hungry passengers.
Delta Airlines employees hand out free Chick-fil-A sandwiches to passengers at Atlanta airport
Chick-fil-A owner and CEO Dan Cathy also helped with handing out sandwiches to hungry travelers
‘The mayor called about 10 p.m. and asked for assistance. We immediately mobilized staff and team members who live and work near the airport, and they are making sandwiches and delivering them to the EOC (emergency operations center).’
‘It has been a very difficult day for thousands of travelers, and while Chick-fil-A is always closed on Sunday, our restaurants open occasionally to serve communities in need.’
Among those handing out sandwiches was Dan Cathy, the current owner and CEO, who is the son of founder Truett Cathy, who made the decision not to open on Sundays back in 1964.
The problems at the airport were caused by a fire in an electrical facility and resulted in more than 1000 flights being grounded
Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed later thanked Chick-fil-A for its assistance, confirming that 2,000 meals had already been handed out to hungry travelers as of 11:30 p.m. on Sunday and the company said in total 5300 were given out.
A sudden power outage that Georgia Power said was caused by a fire in an underground electrical facility brought the airport to a standstill Sunday about 1 p.m.
The fire was next to equipment for a backup system, causing that to also fail, the utility said. Power was restored at around midnight.