Two weeks before Chicago air traffic back to normal
The Federal Aviation Administration says it will take up to two weeks to fully restore operations at the Chicago air traffic control center damaged by fire on Friday.
Almost 1,500 flights were grounded at Chicago’s O’Hare and Midway airports on Friday after sabotage by a disgruntled employee, who later tried to commit suicide.
Contract worker Brian Howard, 36, has been charged with destruction of aircraft facilities.
"Teams will be working around the clock to install equipment, run cable and restore network connections at the facility," said a FAA statement.
"The FAA has set a target to return Chicago Center to full service by October 13.
The snarl up caused travel chaos for Chicago area travelers with thousand delayed over the weekend and many flights grounded elsewhere around the country.
The FAA said Chicago O’Hare, the world’s second busiest airport, was operating flights at 60% of its normal capacity at the weekend.
Around 700 flights in and out of Chicago were canceled Sunday.
FAA spokeswoman Elizabeth Cory said service is likely to improve further today but full operational service is still some way off.
Lawmakers are calling for a comprehensive probe into how a lone individual could cause so much disruption to the nation’s air traffic system.
"I want to see not only an immediate review by the FAA of the screening process at the Chicago Air Route Traffic Control Center in Aurora, but also a report outlining changes the FAA will make to prevent any one individual from having this type of impact on the heart of the US economy," said US Sen. Mark Kirk, a Illinois republican.
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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.
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