Chick-fil-A opened Sunday at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport to give meals to stranded passengers after a massive power outage at the country's busiest airport Sunday, WAGA-TV reported.
The fast-food chain is known for not opening on Sunday, established by owner Truett Cathy at his first restaurant in Hapeville, Georgia, in 1964. The current chairman and chief executive, son Dan Cathy, made the rare exception to help passengers, WAGA-TV reported.
Cathy and Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed worked together to get meals passed out to passengers as work was being done to an electricity blackout that grounded air traffic at the crowded airport, the television station said.
"The mayor called about 10 p.m. and asked for assistance," Chick-fil-A said in a statement, according to WSB-TV. "We immediately mobilized staff and team members who live and work near the airport, and they are making sandwiches and delivering them to the EOC (emergency operations center).
"City and airport officials there are distributing sandwiches to passengers who are stranded due to the power outage. It has been a very difficult day for thousands of travelers, and while Chick-fil-A is always closed on Sunday, our restaurants open occasionally to serve communities in need. We do not make a profit, but do what we can to offer comfort to people experiencing hardship," the statement continued.
The airport thanked Cathy and Chick-fil-A on Twitter.
Crews restored power to the airport around midnight after nearly 11 hours after the outage began, WAGA-TV reported.
The airport struggled to get people moving Monday, with CNN reporting that some were still on the floor with lines at some airline counters extending to the airport entrance. Delta, which has its hub in Atlanta, canceled almost 400 flights Monday, per CNN.