Telecom Outage Causes Widespread Flight Disruptions at Dallas Airports

Over 1,800 flights were delayed and hundreds were canceled at two Dallas-area airports on Friday after a telecom outage led the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to issue ground stops. The FAA reported it was slowing traffic due to a problem with a local telephone company’s equipment, clarifying that its own equipment was not involved. The agency stated, “The FAA is working with the telephone company to determine the cause.” The FAA had halted departures to Dallas Fort Worth until 11 p.m. ET and to Dallas Love Field until at least 8:45 p.m. According to FlightAware, which tracks flights, airlines have canceled 20% of their flights at Dallas. American Airlines canceled more than 200 flights and delayed over 500, with nearly all of them linked to the Dallas telecom outage, impacting a quarter of its schedule. Southwest Airlines, according to FlightAware, delayed more than 1,100 flights, representing 27% of its schedule. The FAA has faced numerous communication issues this year. On Thursday, the FAA slowed flights into Denver International Airport because automation problems between an approach control tower and Denver air traffic control were necessitating manual handoff procedures, resulting in delays averaging 30 to 45 minutes. A series of issues involving the aging US air traffic control system prompted Congress in July to approve an initial $12.5 billion in funding to overhaul the system, which FAA leaders say experiences technical issues almost daily. The FAA’s air traffic control network’s troubles have been years in the making, but a recent surge of high-profile mishaps, near-misses, staffing shortages, and a catastrophic crash in January between a US Army helicopter and a regional American Airlines jet that killed 67 people has significantly heightened public alarm.