Chicago flight delays continue after air control center fire
Air travelers on Sunday can likely expect further delays and cancellations at Chicago airports as the FAA labored to return traffic to normal after an arson fire Friday at the agency’s Aurora radar facility wreaked havoc in the nation’s air travel system.
Although the FAA said Saturday that technicians were working to complete a “damage assessment and timeline for restoration of services” at the Aurora facility, the agency did not specify when the air traffic control center, one of the nation’s busiest, would be fully operational.
Flight cancellations and delays continued to slow travelers Saturday. At least 788 flights had been canceled Saturday out of Chicago’s two airports as of 5 p.m., according to FlightStats, a website that monitors air traffic. Hundreds more were delayed.
Four other regional radar centers in the Midwest are working overtime to alleviate traffic that would normally be tracked through the Aurora center, according to Doug Church, a spokesman for the National Air Traffic Controllers Assn.
On Friday, more than 2,000 flights were canceled at both airports. Authorities say the fire was caused by a contract employee as part of a suicide attempt.
Brian Howard, 36, of Naperville, Ill., was charged Friday with one count of destruction of aircraft or aircraft facilities; authorities allege he set the fire that closed the facility.
Howard remained hospitalized Saturday, according to a spokeswoman for the FBI, which is handling the investigation.
mmanchir@tribune.com
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