The Nation - News from July 25, 1988

Electrical power went out at a Detroit Metropolitan Airport terminal, forcing Northwest Airlines customers to retrieve baggage by hand and use stairs to leave and board flights. The outage knocked out computers and baggage handling belts and darkened restaurants and shops, a Northwest spokesman said, adding that many telephones were also cut off. Dennis Castille, a deputy in the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office airport division, said temporary generators had restored computer service and some lights but full service was not expected until sometime today. Martin Bufalini, a spokesman for Detroit Edison Co., said the problem had been traced to Northwest cable and airline crews.