Fire alert causes flight chaos in Chicago
An electrical fire in an air traffic control facility near Chicago caused a day of chaos at the city’s two main airports, with hundreds of flights grounded at O’Hare and Midway airports.
Chicago Terminal Radar Approach Control, located in the suburb of Elgin, was evacuated at midday yesterday after an electrical fire was discovered in a faulty air conditioning unit.
Immediate arrivals were handled by a back-up control center in Aurora, Illinois according to FAA spokesman Tony Molinaro, while a ground stop was placed on all flights for the next four hours at both airports.
Flight tracking firm FlightStats.com reported over 1,000 delays involving flights to and from O’Hare and Midway.
O’Hare is the second-busiest airport in the US and a major hub for American Airlines and United Airlines, impacting heavily on flights throughout the country.
Inside the overcrowded terminals, long lines of people formed trying to rebook on later flights.
Normal operations resumed at the Elgin facility by late afternoon although delays continued for several hours, with dozens of planes backed up on tarmac.
The incident was the second time in as many weeks the FAA has had to halt flights due to equipment failure at a flight control center.
On April 30 Los Angeles traffic control systems broke down due to an error in tracking a high-altitude U-2 spy plane, the FAA said.
TravelMole Editorial Team
Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Phocuswright reveals the world's largest travel markets in volume in 2025
Cyclone in Sri Lanka had limited effect on tourism in contrary to media reports
Higher departure tax and visa cost, e-arrival card: Japan unleashes the fiscal weapon against tourists
In Italy, the Meloni government congratulates itself for its tourism achievements
Singapore to forbid entry to undesirable travelers with new no-boarding directive