Part of Frankfurt Airport's power supply cut overnight by a dormouse, but effect on flights limited

BERLIN — Part of Frankfurt Airport's power supply was cut off for several hours during the night after a dormouse caused a short-circuit at an electricity substation, officials said Tuesday. The power cut had only a limited effect on flights.

Energy company Syna said the rodent triggered the short-circuit around 10:45 p.m. on Monday, German news agency dpa reported. Electricity was cut off and the airport's fire service was deployed due to the smoke that resulted from the incident. Power was restored around 3:20 a.m. and the dormouse was found dead next to the wire it had gnawed.

Airport operator Fraport said the effects on air traffic were limited because the incident happened shortly before flights ended for the night and was dealt with well before they started on Tuesday morning.

However, the airport said on social network X that “due to a technical problem, flight delays and cancellations can be expected ... this morning.”

Eleven cancelations were announced on Tuesday morning, dpa reported. In all, 1,242 flights were scheduled Tuesday at Germany's busiest airport.

Fraport said it has pest controllers in constant deployment but it isn't possible to rule out incidents like this completely. Power to the airport comes from two separate suppliers and there are six substations.