April 11, 2000, Reagan National Airport operations will return to normal Tuesday after a power failure the night before    forced flights to be rerouted to nearby airports, an FAA spokesman Elliott Brenner said.

Brenner reported the power at the tower and radar rooms went down about 8:40 pm Monday night and was restored about 4:15 a.m. the following day.  Tower personnel attempted to use their backup generator. However, a circuit breaker failed on the backup system, forcing the eventual closure.

The FAA had rerouted all flights Monday evening to Dulles International Airport in Virginia and Baltimore Washington Airport. Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland assisted Reagan National Airport tower personnel with some flight into the airport. Hundreds of outbound passengers, however, were stranded, many overnight.