Chick-fil-A broke one of its core rules and opened on Sunday to feed stranded passengers at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport during a massive power outage.
The fast-food chain, which is famously known for being closed on Sundays to give employees a day to rest and worship, got to work to help feed thousands of travelers during a nearly 11-hour power outage at the world's busiest airport, local NBC affiliate WXIA reports.
Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed thanked Chick-fil-A on Twitter for donating 2,000 meals.
Update: Power has been restored to Concourses A, B, F, T and the @ATLairport atrium. We have provided 2,000 meals so far. Special thank you to Dan Cathy and @ChickfilA for their support. #atlairport
— Kasim Reed (@KasimReed) December 18, 2017
A Chick-fil-A spokesperson told Business Insider that Reed had called the company at 10 p.m. ET and asked for assistance.
Reed also apologized to the passengers affected by the outage during a news conference.
"I want to express my sincere apologies to the thousands of passengers whose day has been disrupted in this manner," Reed said. "We certainly understand that the outage has caused frustration and anger and we are doing everything that we can to get folks back home right away."
The city ultimately opened its convention center for the stranded travelers, with Chick-fil-A continuing to donate meals to passengers.
The City of Atlanta has mobilized the Georgia International Convention Center and will provide shuttle services for anyone who needs a place to stay for the night. @ChickfilA will provide food for passengers.
— City of Atlanta, GA (@CityofAtlanta) December 18, 2017
The outage, which ended at about 11:45 p.m. ET when power was restored, led to 1,180 flight cancellations, according to the flight tracking service FlightAware. Hundreds of flights have also been canceled for Monday.
Approximately 275,000 passengers go through the Atlanta airport every day.
This is not the first time that Chick-fil-A has made news by opening its doors on a Sunday to help those in need. In June 2016, employees at the fast-food chain went to work on Sunday to provide food to people who were donating blood after the Orlando Pulse nightclub shooting.