Flights delayed at Dallas airport after controller tested positive for Covid



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The airspace around Dallas-Fort Worth Airport, one of the country’s busiest, was closed on Monday after a controller tested positive for Covid-19.

The airport terminal’s radar approach control facility was cleaned up after one controller tested positive, the Federal Aviation Administration said. The center handles inbound and outbound air traffic at the airport and others, and controllers worked there from DFW’s central tower, the agency said.

The FAA website had indicated a ground stop around 6:30 p.m., and it was lifted about an hour and a half later, the airport said.

Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport has warned that flights will be affected. An FAA website had shown gate and taxi delays of around an hour.

This is the second time in a week that airports in the Dallas area have been affected by the cleanup at an FAA facility following cases of Covid-19. The earlier case involved the Fort Worth air traffic control center.

Earlier Monday, flights were delayed at select Florida airports after an FAA facility near Jacksonville had to be cleaned up after an employee tested positive for Covid, a spokesperson for the United States said. agency.

The FAA’s Jacksonville center was back up and running at 6:00 p.m., but it “implemented traffic management programs” from 4:20 p.m.

Airports in Tampa, palm beach and Jacksonville have all tweeted warnings of delays or cancellations due to the temporary closure of the air traffic control center.

The number of people traveling to the United States increased during the holidays, although it remained well below normal years.

More than 1.32 million people were screened Sunday, according to Transportation Security Administration checkpoint numbers. This number is the highest in one day since March.

Health officials have warned of a possible increase in coronavirus cases after travel and vacation gatherings, and several states have reported cases of a variant of Covid-19 that is believed to be more transmissible and has been detected for the first time in the UK.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday announced a new national lockdown in England, citing the new variant. The measures are similar to the lockdown imposed last March and include asking the public to stay home and leave for limited reasons.



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