A downed power line south of Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport Monday morning disrupted more than 100 flights and left some travelers waiting for hours in the dark.

By noon, crews had restored power to the airport, allowing security checkpoints to open and airlines to operate, Jonathan Dean, a BWI spokesperson, said. Airline operations will take some time to “fully resume regular operations,” he added.

Dean said the airport’s electrical team worked through the morning to restore power as quickly and safely as possible.

As of around noon on Monday, more than 160 flights at BWI had been delayed and 52 were canceled, according to flight tracking site FlightAware.

Power was out at the airport around 8 a.m., though some lights remained on in Terminal A, and staff could operate the speaker system. Digital signs that normally displayed information about flights were blank, and power at restaurants was out.

Baltimore Gas and Electric Company spokeswoman Stephanie Weaver confirmed the power outage began at 7:40 a.m. due to a power line that went down south of the airport in the 7600 block of WB&A Road in Severn.

The Anne Arundel Fire Department was on scene to make sure there were no fires, according to a Fire Department spokesperson.

Around 9:30 a.m., the airport said in an update on social media that “many” inbound flights were being diverted due to the outage and urged travelers to check their flight status with their airline. A short time later, the airport said power was slowly being restored through the main terminal and at Transportation Security Administration checkpoints.

Dean said that airport administration personnel distributed water to customers in the terminals during the outage and after power was restored.

“We apologize to our customers and appreciate their patience as we worked to restore power throughout the airport terminal,” he said.

Travelers at BWI posted videos and photos to social media on Monday, showing long lines at check-in counters and TSA checkpoints. “Lines wrapped up around everything. Massive delays starting to build up,” wrote one person on X.

BWI is a major airport for the region and a hub for Southwest Airlines, with the airline accounting for 70% of the airport’s traffic. A Southwest spokesperson said in an email that airline employees worked with teams at BWI to serve customers on flights impacted by the power outage. “We’re grateful to our customers for their patience,” the spokesperson added.

Last July, BWI faced major delays due to a global Microsoft outage that also impacted computer systems used by courts and local governments. Less than a week before the Microsoft outage, the airport had a power outage that lasted almost two hours and left flights grounded and travelers without air conditioning.

Banner data reporter Greg Morton contributed to this story.