DFW Airport cancels hundreds of outgoing flights amid winter storm, most in the world
Over 600 flights in and out of Dallas Fort-Worth Airport have been canceled Friday, a pattern continuing from days prior thanks to a winter storm that’s taken over North Texas with freezing temperatures and icy roads.
Inbound flights to DFW are being delayed an average of 4.5 hours, according to the tracking website FlightAware. Around the country, nearly 3,000 flights were canceled and over 700 have been delayed as of Friday morning.
Two runways at DFW Airport had been reopened Thursday evening after the airport announced its runways were experiencing stoppages throughout the day amid winter weather conditions. More than 2,000 flights, both arriving and departing out of DFW, have been canceled the last 48 hours.
A third runway opened around noon Friday as crews continued to work on the airport’s roadways that were iced over.
At about 11 a.m. Thursday, DFW Airport confirmed on Twitter that its first runway was reopened for operations. It said around 2:30 it had cleared a second runway for use.
Thursday, more than 700 flights departing DFW Airport were canceled amid the winter storm affecting North Texas, FlightAware reported. More than 600 arriving flights were also canceled.
“Please check with your airline before heading to the airport and arrive at least 2.5 hours before your flight to clear TSA checkpoints,” a tweet from DFW Airport said.
Dallas Love Field had canceled 357 flights Thursday, including nearly 179 departing flights, or 77% of those planned. On Friday, Dallas Love Field reported 150 flight cancellations.
Love Field has not released any updates on how many, if any, runways were closed but said on Twitter that crews stayed overnight to work on runways.
As of 10 p.m. Thursday, DFW Airport has the most canceled incoming and outgoing flights in the world by a large margin. Dallas Love Field has the fourth-most cancellations. FlightAware showed 75% of outgoing flights and 68% of incoming flights at DFW Airport were canceled as of that time.
North Texas-based Southwest and American Airlines led the world in flight cancellations by airlines, with Southwest contributing to more than 1,000 cancellations around the world.
More than 6,300 flights were canceled Thursday nationwide as winter weather moves across the south and northeast U.S.
Chicago O’Hare, Austin-Bergstrom and St Louis Lamber International join DFW and Dallas Love Field with the most flight cancellations, and at least 10 U.S. airports had more than 100 canceled flight departures, according to FlightAware.
This story was originally published February 3, 2022 at 9:38 AM.
