Telecom outage at Dallas airports: 430 flights cancelled, hundreds delayed – All you need to know

Dallas Love Field and Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) faced major disruptions Friday afternoon after a telecommunications outage caused Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) air traffic controllers to lose radar and phone communications.

According to FlightAware data, the technical issue led to over 430 flight cancellations and around 580 delays at DFW, along with over 190 delays at Love Field, with some flights later allowed to resume, as reported by CNN. The FAA reported that the outage, caused by a local telephone company equipment failure, did not involve FAA equipment. “The FAA is slowing flights at Dallas Love Field and Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport due to a reported local telephone company equipment issue,” the flight safety agency said.

It added that the agency was working with the provider to resolve the problem, according to New York Post. Flight operations were disrupted just after 4 pm (local time), with a ground stop and ground delay issued at both airports. A controller at the Love Field tower said in audio recorded by LiveATC.net, “We’ve lost all radar and phone communications. I’m not departing anybody until we can get a system setup. We have no coms on approach right now.”

The outage affected Dallas TRACON, which manages arrivals and departures at both airports. Flights departing for Fort Worth Alliance Airport, McKinney National Airport and Fort Worth Meacham International Airport were also temporarily halted.The ground stop at Love Field was briefly lifted but reissued around 6.30 pm CT, while DFW remained under a ground delay program until at least 9 pm CT. Airlines including American and Southwest issued travel waivers, allowing passengers to change or cancel flights without additional fees.Some flights already in the air were diverted to alternate airports, while others were held at their departure points for 30–60 minutes.Dallas Love Field is home to Southwest Airlines’ headquarters, and DFW, the third-busiest airport in the United States, serves roughly 200,000 passengers daily on about 1900 flights. The two airports are about 15 miles apart, and both rely on Dallas TRACON for air traffic management.Republican Senator Ted Cruz reassured travelers that officials were monitoring the situation. “We have been in touch with the FAA and airlines and are monitoring the situation and urge the flying public to remain patient as officials remedy the situation,” Cruz said.The FAA noted that air traffic controllers rely on telecommunications lines from local phone companies to connect towers and the TRACON. Similar outages occurred earlier this year due to problems with a telecommunications line between Long Island, New York and Philadelphia, causing flight disruptions at Newark Liberty International Airport.

This highlights the need for upgraded air traffic control infrastructure.“As the FAA and its provider work to resolve the issue, American has issued a travel alert allowing customers whose travel plans are affected to rebook without change fees,” the American airlines said in a statement on X.

Southwest Airlines also relaxed rules for passengers wanting to fly on different days or receive refunds.Amid the disruptions, passengers expressed growing frustration over prolonged delays.

“We just kept getting delayed, delayed,” passenger Krysta Wagner told reporters while waiting in line to rebook. “They let us know that there was an air traffic control issue and there was just too much delay, so we’re going to miss our layover.” Another traveler, Kevin Hensley, gave up on reaching Boston tonight after standing in line for more than half an hour. “There’s actually, it looks like, about another half hour to wait,” he said. “I have a flight tomorrow morning. I’m just going to take that.”