Airlines have again abandoned most flying in and out of DFW International Airport and Dallas Love Field with temperatures dropping below zero Tuesday morning but are scrambling to get out flights later with more snow expected in the evening.
Again, some 800 flights were canceled Tuesday at DFW International Airport, the hometown hub for American Airlines, according to Flightaware.com At Dallas Love Field, Southwest Airlines had preemptively canceled about 20 flights Tuesday morning, but about a dozen flights did depart early with conditions dry despite the frigid weather.
Flights in and out of DFW and Dallas Love Field are expected to be tough with more snow expected to descend on the region starting this region and forecasters expecting as much as five more inches of snow.
Airlines are asking passengers that absolutely need to fly to hold tight and keep an eye on their flight status.
Getting to Texas isn’t any better at other airports. Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental had more than 650 delays and cancellations with temperatures in the low teens in an area of Texas even less accustomed to cold than Dallas. Airports in Austin and San Antonio also had more than 60% of flights canceled Wednesday, according to Flightaware.com.
The FAA issued a ground stop on arriving traffic at “airline request” Tuesday morning, an unusual move but practical considering that American had canceled most departures and arrivals at DFW and other airlines had followed suit.
Crews at DFW and Dallas Love were able to clear most ice and snow from runways Monday after the snow stopped falling and worked throughout the day and overnight with ice melt material to make sure conditions were safe for planes to land.
But airlines didn’t seem inclined to take any chances and pushed most passenger flights back until later Tuesday.
Love Field has closed its and A and B parking garages and are directing passengers to the C garage nearest ticketing.
DFW International Airport closed its Skylink trains Sunday night, but restarted those, although they are running at a reduced capacity because of the limited number of passengers at the airport.
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