ATLANTA — While power has been restored to the world’s busiest airport, the travel woes will linger for days.

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Thousands of people were stranded Monday morning at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, where more than 1,000 flights were grounded just days before the start of the Christmas travel rush.

A sudden power outage that Georgia Power said was caused by a fire in an underground electrical facility brought the airport to a standstill Sunday about 1 p.m.

All outgoing flights were halted, and arriving planes were held on the ground at their point of departure. International flights were being diverted, officials said.

Delta Air Lines, with its biggest hub in Atlanta, will be hardest hit. By Sunday evening, Delta had already canceled nearly 900 flights and another 300 Monday, nearly all of them in Atlanta, according to tracking service FlightAware.com.

Robert Mann, an aviation consultant and former American Airlines executive, said it likely will be Tuesday before Delta’s operations in Atlanta return to normal, and for passengers “it could be most of the week” because there aren’t many open seats on other flights in the last week before Christmas.

For those stuck on the planes Sunday, it was rough. That includes former Charlotte mayor and U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx.

Foxx took to Twitter to vent his frustrations:

“Total and abject failure here at ATL Airport today. I am stuck on @delta flight, passengers and crew tolerating it.  But there is no excuse for lack of workable redundant power source. NONE!”

“I have no idea what happened here today.  We all understand that Snafus happen and most of the folks down here are doing their jobs to the best of their ability.  But, whatever the cause, it feels like this one was compounded by confusion and poor communication.”

“Now heading to car rental facility where I hope to drive to CLT and catch a morning flight.  Due to backlog, I would not leave ATL until 4 pm tomorrow arriving at nearly 10 pm.  At least I am out of airport and breathing fresh air.”