A significant outage in air traffic equipment has nearly halted travel across the U.S., leading to the closure of Dallas-Fort Worth International (DFW) and Dallas Love Field (DAL) on Friday. Federal officials are working to address the issue.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reported a severe system malfunction at the Dallas TRACON facility. This triggered emergency ‘one in, one out’ procedures at major hubs and affected operations in over 20 major U.S. airspaces.
The failure impacted radar, radio, and approach systems, causing delays in flights across major sectors like Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, Houston, and others, including Fort Worth, Denver, Miami, Kansas City, Memphis, and Indianapolis.
Additional affected airports and airspaces include Albuquerque, Minneapolis, Salt Lake City, Washington DC, New York, Cleveland, Oakland, Seattle, and Boston.
Airports such as Dallas/Fort Worth International (DFW), Dallas Love Field (DAL), and Kansas City International (MCI) are now operating with restricted ‘one in, one out’ protocols, allowing only one plane to either depart or arrive at a time.
The outage has also affected international departures from Canadian airports, including Toronto (YYZ), Montreal (YUL) and Vancouver (YVR).
‘This is an ongoing nationwide issue,’ the FAA stated in a bulletin, noting that technicians are still determining the cause of the disruption, which has crippled radar, radio, and approach systems essential for airport operations.
According to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) updates, the probability of delays extending remains ‘medium’ as technicians work to restore the affected 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 in a statement.
Dallas has been forced to close both of its airports on Friday until at least 5pm CT due to equipment issues. Pictured are American Airlines passenger jets at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport
The Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) handles flights arriving or departing both airports.
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.
More than 3,000 flights have been delayed, with a maximum delay of 174 minutes and an average of 137 minutes
‘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.
