Chaos, Gridlock At Sea-Tac

A power outage hit the south terminal about 9 a.m. At about the same time, there was a security breach in the south terminal when a door was opened.

Problems started when power to the subway train to the south terminal went out shortly before 9 a.m., airport spokesman Bob Parker said.

The cause of the power loss was not immediately known, and it was unclear how many travelers were affected, Parker said.

Passengers in the subway train were trapped in the train for about 10 minutes before crews led them out, Parker said.

The airport rerouted passengers who were to leave from the south terminal back to the main concourse. From there, they were to be bused to the terminal, he said. But the operation was halted, Parker said.

There were "significant crowds in the airport" and "we have a significant ripple effect back through the airport," Parker said. The backup prompted the airport to halt security screening at the checkpoint in the C concourse.

Other passengers arriving in flights at the south terminal were being kept on the airplanes, in hopes they can be bused to the main terminal, he said. Some airlines were holding flights, he said.

It's been a rough week at Sea-Tac.

Earlier this week, many passengers waited 90 minutes or more to pass through security screening during peak travel times due to reduced security staffing and an increase in summertime travel.

The Port of Seattle, which owns and operates the airport, has said it will hire people for "line management" to allow Transportation Security Administration workers to focus on screening.