The fire at a Federal Aviation Administration’s Chicago air traffic control center on Friday has caused major problems for airlines. American Airlines and U.S. Airways officials say it had to cancel 1,400 flights system-wide over the weekend. Flights from Phoenix are making their way back to normal.
American Airlines and U.S. Airways operate an average of nine daily departures to Chicago from Phoenix. As of Monday, all the flights were taking off. But officials are advising travelers to check the status of flights before arriving at the airport, because there are delays.
“The departure from Phoenix are continuing, however as a result of that air traffic control center fire we are seeing some outbound departure with a ground delay of about 60 minutes," said Andrew Christie, spokesperson for American Airlines.
The FAA said Chicago controllers have been relocated to other surrounding air traffic facilities to help maximize the traffic flow in and out of the Chicago-area airports.
