A failure of radar and communications systems at Dallas TRACON is forcing ground stops at both Dallas-Fort Worth International and Dallas Love Field airports.
The equipment outage, which began around midday Friday, effectively blinded air traffic controllers in the Dallas area, prompting immediate ground stops for departing flights and significant delays for arrivals. The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed the widespread nature of the technical failure, which affected the Terminal Radar Approach Control facility that manages all flights in and out of the Dallas metropolitan area.
“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 setup. We have no coms with approach right now.”
“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 said in a statement. The Terminal Radar Approach Control facility handles all flights arriving and departing both airports, making its failure catastrophic for regional air traffic.
As of 2 p.m. CT there were 273 flight delays at DFW, and 69 at Love Field. The numbers continued to climb throughout the afternoon as the ripple effects of the outage spread across the national airspace system.
The agency reports that disruptions could continue for several hours, potentially through 5 p.m. Travelers were strongly advised to check with their airlines for the latest information as the situation developed throughout the afternoon.
