BERLIN — Part of Frankfurt Airport’s power supply was down for several hours overnight after a dormouse caused a short circuit at a power station, officials said on Tuesday. The blackout had only a limited effect on flights.
Energy company Syna said the rodent triggered the short circuit around 10:45 p.m. Monday, German news agency dpa reported. Power was cut and the airport’s fire department was called in due to the smoke that arose from the incident. Power was restored around 3:20 a.m. and the shrew was found dead next to the wire it had gnawed.
Airport operator Fraport said the impact on air traffic was limited because the incident occurred shortly before flights ended for the night and was dealt with well before they took off on Tuesday morning.
But the airport said on social network X that “due to a technical problem, flight delays and cancellations can be expected … this morning.”
Eleven cancellations were announced on Tuesday morning, dpa reported. A total of 1,242 flights were scheduled on Tuesday at Germany’s busiest airport.
Fraport said it has pest control on a constant basis but it is not possible to completely rule out incidents like this. Power to the airport comes from two separate suppliers and there are six substations.