Dallas Airports Grounded by Telecom Outage

A massive air traffic equipment outage brought travel to a near standstill across the United States, with Dallas-Fort Worth International (DFW) shut down for a large portion Friday, as federal authorities scrambled to contain the fallout.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed that a catastrophic system failure at the Dallas TRACON facility triggered 'one in, one out' emergency procedures at key hubs and spilled over into at least 20 additional major US airspaces.

Dallas Love-Field was also hit with a ground stop earlier but that was reversed to just a ground delay shortly after 6pm EST. Beyond Dallas, the effects have been just as severe.

Flights across at least 20 other air traffic control sectors - including those serving Los Angeles, Atlanta, Miami, New York, Chicago, Denver, Salt Lake City, and Washington, D.C. - were impacted by cascading congestion and rerouted traffic.

At Boston Logan Airport, officials halted unscheduled general aviation flights entirely and warned of significant delays amid ongoing runway construction.

In Las Vegas, thunderstorms exacerbated the chaos, contributing to a mix of weather-related delays and partial closures, while California's Monterey Regional Airport suspended nearly all fixed-wing aircraft operations except limited helicopter flights.

Even Canada wasn't spared. Departures from Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver were delayed as air traffic controllers struggled to reroute or hold aircraft scheduled to land in affected US zones.

'This is a developing nationwide disruption,' the FAA said in a bulletin, confirming technicians were still investigating the cause of the breakdown, which affected radar, radio, and approach systems - the core tools of airport coordination.

According to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) updates, the probability of delays extending remains 'medium' as technicians work to restore the affected systems.

Inside Dallas, travelers faced scenes of mounting frustration. Departures were stacked, gates overwhelmed, and many aircraft were left sitting on taxiways awaiting clearance - if at all.

Wait times at DFW reached an average of 68 minutes, while Love Field delays clocked in near half an hour.

At Teterboro Airport in New Jersey, departures were backed up by more than an hour, with officials citing a nationwide logjam.

In a statement, the FAA confirmed it was investigating the source of the Dallas TRACON outage, which impacted radar, radio, and critical approach systems.

'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 Friday.

By early afternoon, ten US airports were functionally restricted or closed. Boston Logan, Las Vegas McCarran, and Monterey announced outright shutdowns or heavy restrictions due to construction, weather, or operational limitations.

Seven more in the Dallas area were under full ground stop orders.

Meanwhile, at least a dozen other high-volume airports were contending with spillover effects, as routes were redrawn, arrivals held at gates, and departures stalled without clearance.

Live recordings from the Dallas Love Field tower highlighted the confusion on the ground.

'I don't have any idea what kind of time we're looking at here,' a controller told pilots, while another added, '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.'

Dallas Love Field serves more than 16 million passengers annually, averaging about 44,000 daily, while roughly 189,000 passengers fly out of DFW each day.

The other affected airports collectively handle over 29,000 daily flights, underscoring the scope of the disruption.

Passengers have already begun sharing their frustrations online. One traveler posted 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.'

Another Dallas traveler shared: 'Sitting at the gate can't take off due to a problem with traffic control radar, not sure how long the delay will be, but they say DFW airport is completely shut down, nothing in or out may be stuck on this plane for a while.'

One TikToker user commented on a video about the delay, saying: 'I am in Cincinnati trying to get home to Dallas, and our flight is delayed 3 hours now.

'The AA worker literally said they do not know what is going on, other than DFW airport's website says it is due to radar and air traffic controller outages. Kinda scary!'

Airlines, including American, Southwest and Delta, have reported significant disruptions and are working to rebook affected passengers.

'We've lost all radar and phone communications,' a controller at Dallas Love Field said in audio captured 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.'

Another pilot added: '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.'

To manage traffic safely, the FAA has implemented a delay assignment program across the affected airspace.

The system controls the flow of all flights entering the impacted regions, preventing unsafe congestion while technicians work to restore radar and radio capabilities.

The outage began Friday afternoon, with ground stops at DFW and DAL effective from 1:58pm to 5:00pm local time.

FAA alerts indicate that over 8,600 flights at the two airports alone have been delayed, with maximum delays exceeding three hours for some aircraft.

Travelers are strongly advised to check with their airlines before heading to airports and to expect longer-than-usual wait times at check-in and security.

The outage has highlighted the vulnerability of US air traffic management systems, showing how quickly a failure in key infrastructure can ripple across the country's skies.

For passengers, the disruption is a stark reminder of how reliant modern travel is on technology and coordination.

For the FAA and airlines, it is a race against time to restore systems and minimize the impact on thousands of travelers nationwide.