Local

Airport concourse reopens after shed explosion

ATLANTA — Concourse D of Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport was evacuated after an explosion in a maintenance shed just before 9 a.m. Tuesday.

Officials told Channel 2's Richard Elliot the small electrical explosion was at the ramp-level maintenance shop by Gate D21, knocking out power to most of the concourse. Atlanta Fire Department spokeswoman Janet Ward said there was no smoke or fire, and airport officials said there were no injuries.

Passengers said they were not allowed to leave Concourse D for about an hour with partial lights and no air conditioning. Airport workers moved the passengers by bus to another concourse.

Elliot caught up with several passengers.

"There were people everywhere stopping us saying, 'You can't go any farther. Concourse D is shut down,'" said Tina Henderson.

"It was extremely congested and it was quite warm," said passenger Rodney Hampton.

"I went up the escalator and all of a sudden it stopped. All of the lights were off. We got on the train and then the train wasn't working, so we got off the train and walked, and walked, and walked, and here I am," one woman told Channel 2's Craig Lucie.

She said the incident was handled pretty smoothly.

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"Some people were upset because they were missing their flights, but overall, I'd say it was pretty relaxed," she said.

Operations were fully restored around 11:30 a.m., according to the airport.

"The exact cause of the failure is currently under investigation, and inspectors will be closely reviewing the system this evening to determine a cause,"  airport officials said in a statement.

They said about 35 flights were delayed about 30 minutes because of the incident. Two flights were canceled.

Some passengers had concerns about how the incident was handled.

"It was terrible that there was no U.S. Airways rep available to say anything or talk to anybody. The only way to get in touch with them was by phone," said Leiba Kahn.

The FBI is monitoring the situation, along with several other incidents around the country Tuesday.

"The FBI is aware of multiple threatening phone calls at airports and public buildings across the country over the past 48 hours.  FBI Agents are monitoring the separate incidents with state and local law enforcement agencies in their respective jurisdictions to see if there are any similarities. There were no actual devices located in any of the incidents," the agency said in a statement.