Equipment Problem At DFW Delays Flights

DALLAS, TX.(AP) – A software problem disrupted radio communications at both control towers at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport early Monday, delaying flights up to an hour as one of the busiest air travel weeks of the year was just getting under way.

Airport spokesman Ken Capps said in an e-mail that the problems was repaired at both the towers on both the east and west side of the airport after about 30 minutes. Flights were expected to be delayed for between 30 minutes and an hour, Capps said.

The outage at about 7 a.m. affected both incoming and outgoing flights, according to the Federal Aviation Administration’s Air Traffic Control System Command Center.

The FAA had declared a “ground stop,” which cuts incoming flights by holding planes on the ground at their previous airport stop.

DFW Airport ranks third nationally and sixth globally in number of passengers moved, according to the Airports Council International Web site.

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)