Chick-fil-A broke from tradition and opened on a Sunday — and there's an incredible backstory

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December 18, 2017 2:20 PM

Chick-fil-A broke one of its core rules and served fried chicken this Sunday after thousands of passengers were stranded at the busiest airport in the world.

Chick-fil-A is never open on Sundays.
The chain sprang into action this past Sunday, however, to prepare free meals for the thousands of passengers stranded after a power failure halted activity at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
A Chick-fil-A spokeswoman said the company "immediately mobilized" after Atlanta's mayor called to ask for assistance.

With the world's busiest airport closed for hours without power, stranding thousands of passengers, Chick-fil-A broke one of its core rules this past weekend and served fried chicken on a Sunday.

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport lost power Sunday afternoon, causing more than 1,000 flights to be grounded. As day turned to night, the city of Atlanta turned to Chick-fil-A to help craft a solution.

Atlanta's mayor, Kasim Reed, called the fast-food chain at about 10 p.m. and asked for assistance, a company spokeswoman, Amanda Hannah, told Business Insider in an email.

Chick-fil-A is not open on Sunday because of the founder's religious beliefs. But on this Sunday, Chick-fil-A employees "immediately mobilized," Hannah said, making sandwiches and delivering them to an emergency operations center to be distributed to stranded passengers.

"It has been a very difficult day for thousands of travelers," Hannah said. "And while Chick-fil-A is always closed on Sunday, our restaurants open occasionally to serve communities in need."

Hannah continued: "We do not make a profit but do what we can to offer comfort to people experiencing hardship."

People immediately celebrated the chicken chain's break from tradition.

Power at was fully restored at the airport a few minutes after midnight. According to Georgia Power, more than 5,000 meals have been delivered to stranded passengers.

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