A telecommunications failure on Friday disrupted radar and communication systems at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport and Dallas Love Field, has grounded thousands of flights.
The outage affected 20 other US airspaces, including Los Angeles, Atlanta, Miami, New York, Chicago, Denver, Salt Lake City, and Washington, D.C., causing widespread delays and cancellations.
Over 8,600 flights were delayed at the two Dallas airports, with ripple effects impacting departures from Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver in Canada.
American Airlines cancelled over 530 flights and faced delays on 1,800 others, incurring potential costs exceeding €50m in refunds and lost revenue.
The Federal Aviation Administration restored normal operations by Saturday afternoon, but passengers faced ongoing disruptions, with some incurring costs of €1,200 for rebookings and accommodations.
A Dallas Love Field air traffic controller shared: “I’m not departing anybody until we can get a system set up. We have no comms with the approach right now.”
David Seymour, American Airlines chief operating officer, shared: “Efforts to restore service by L3Harris – our FAA contractor – and Frontier did not move fast enough.”
An FAA spokesperson shared: “This isn’t just a blip – it’s a wake-up call for an infrastructure creaking under the weight of outdated tech.”
Elena Vasquez, University of Surrey, shared: “We’ve traded speed for brittleness.”
One stranded Irish tourist shared: “I planned this trip for months – a week in the Hill Country, now it’s a €400 reschedule farce.”
