Power outage causes 'some impacts' at Vancouver airport

Travellers faced some unexpected trouble due to a power outage at Vancouver International Airport on Friday.

Officials said emergency backup power kept essential systems running during the outage, allowing flights to continue taking off and landing.

In a statement, Megan Sutton, spokesperson for the Vancouver Airport Authority, said there were "some impacts" within the terminals, including the shutdown of elevators, escalators and self-check-in kiosks.

"Safety and security is our top priority and teams are working to ensure all systems relating to these functions are fully operational," Sutton said. "We thank everyone for their patience."

Shortly before 6 p.m. – about 90 minutes after the outage was announced – airport officials said staff were in the process of restoring power.

About an hour later, the airport said power was fully restored, though it warned there were still some impacts to the terminal as systems came back online.

"Teams are canvassing the airport to ensure these systems are returning to full operation," Sutton said.

There were only a handful of delayed departures listed on the YVR website on Friday afternoon, though airport officials urged travellers to check with their airline for the updates on their flight status.

Despite the temporary shutdown of some systems, Sutton said travellers did not experience "significant delays" during the outage.