Travel chaos as ground stops hit both Dallas airports

Travelers in Dallas are facing major disruptions after ground stops were issued at both airports on Friday afternoon. The ground stop at Dallas Love Field (DAL) began at 1:58pm local time and is set to continue until 5:00pm.

While Dallas/Fort Worth International (DFW) experienced a similar halt starting at 1:54pm, it was also scheduled to end at 5:00 p.m. During the outage , DFW reported over 5,200 delayed flights, with maximum delays reaching three hours and an average of more than two hours. DAL logged over 3,400 delayed flights, with similar averages.

FAA officials warned that the probability of the delays extending is medium, meaning travelers should expect continued disruption through the evening. Meanwhile, Kansas City International Airport (MCI/KCI) is operating under a 'one in, one out' system due to failures in radar and radio equipment that control approach clearances.

Under this system, only one plane can arrive or depart at a time, creating cascading delays for incoming flights, some of which are being diverted to other regional airports. Travelers are advised to contact their airlines for updated flight information.

'The FAA is slowing flights into Dallas Love Field and Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport due to a reported equipment issue at Dallas TRACON. The FAA is investigating the cause,' the agency said in a statement. The Terminal Radar Approach Control handles flights arriving or departing the two airports.

'I don't have any idea what kind of time we're looking at here,' ATC Tower to pilots via LiveATC.net, saying ok to shut down their engines. 'There are equipment issues at both the center and approach; they lost the ability to hand off between the facilities, and they are working on it,' the pilot added.

DAL serves over 16 million passengers annually, averaging about 44,000 passengers per day, and approximately 189,000 people fly out of DFW each day. One traveler shared on X: 'My plane was diverted to Omaha. We had a 1:10 arrival. Still sitting in our seats in Omaha. People can deplane if they choose.'

Passengers are advised to check with their airlines before traveling, as American Airlines, Southwest, and other carriers have already reported significant disruptions. The outage impacts both domestic and international flights, including Canadian departures into US airspace.

'We've lost all radar and phone communications,' the controller in the Dallas Love Field Air Traffic Control tower said in audio recorded by LiveATC.net. 'I'm not departing anybody until we can get a system set up. We have no coms with the approach right now.' 'Approach wanted to pass on to you to stop all departures. They can't get a hold of you. They are having some com issues, I guess,' a Southwest pilot told the Love Field tower.

'Yeah, I think the entire Metroplex just went down,' the controller responded on the radio. 'We got a hold of somebody.' For residents in the Dallas-Fort Worth and Kansas City regions, the disruption marks one of the largest single-day delays in recent history, with thousands of passengers expected to experience hours-long waits at terminals and in the air.