Cape Town - Flights were delayed at Cape Town International Airport on Tuesday after the main power supply was disrupted following an Eskom sub-station catching fire.
Engineers were still to determine the extent of the damage and how long it would take to have electricity fully restored.
Airports Company South Africa spokeswoman Deidre Davids said the airport was running on back-up power, allowing for “core systems only to operate”. “Not all flights have been affected but some have been delayed between 15 to 30 minutes.”
The airport was operating with essential supply until late yesterday afternoon and Davids said Eskom was working to resolve the problem.
“Meantime, the airport team is focusing on causing as little disruption to flight schedules as possible.”
Eskom confirmed the fire in a statement and said it was investigating the cause.
Luggage had to be collected from a central point by passengers because the carousels were not operating and terminals were plunged into darkness.
The air-conditioning and escalators were also affected. Areas such as Nyanga and Bishop Lavis, near the airport, were also affected by the sub-station fire and were without electricity for most of the day.
Cape Argus