Nearly 600 flights delayed after a fire at Dallas Fort Worth Airport

Flights chaos in Texas after Dallas Fort Worth Airport delays nearly 600 planes because of a fuel pump fire

  • A fire broke out at a fuel pump at Dallas-Fort Worth Airport on Friday morning
  • A ground stop was issued  affecting all inbound flights
  • The airport is a hub for American Airlines and its subsidiaries
  • SkyWest has the most cancellations, 15, while American has only had to cancel 5 flights so far
  • Dallas-Fort Worth is the second busiest airport in the world by passenger volume 
  • This is a developing story 

A fire at a fuel pump at Dallas-Fort Worth Airport has forced it to suspend all inbound flights on Friday morning – causing delays to almost 600 flights. 

More than 320 of those flights are operated by American Airlines.

Nearly all flights due to land at the airport before 1pm CT have been diverted.

The airport’s air traffic control put out a notice just before 11am saying that the fuel system was ‘offline’ and being inspected due to the fire.

The fuel lines are now being inspected to ensure they are safe, meaning aircraft at the airport are unable to refuel. 

The number of delayed flights rose from under 300 to over 500 in a matter of minutes on Friday morning according to FlightAware data. 

Although American Airlines has been most affected by delays, SkyWest has the most cancellations, 15, while American has only had to cancel 5 flights so far.

American Airlines planes are seen at the gates of Terminal C at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport

A map showing  flights around the airport at 12.20pm CT - delays affected more than 300 American Airlines flights. All flights due to land at DFW before the 1pm CT will be diverted.

A map showing  flights around the airport at 12.20pm CT – delays affected more than 300 American Airlines flights. All flights due to land at DFW before the 1pm CT will be diverted. 

The ground stop was issued on Friday morning after a fire at a fuel pump

The ground stop was issued on Friday morning after a fire at a fuel pump

An FAA spokesperson said the fire occurred at the fuel farm on the airport’s west side. 

DFW Airport is a hub for flights operated by American Airlines and its subsidiaries.

It operates more than 900 flights every day out of the airport, it said in 2019. Those flights serve 224 destinations in 30 countries.

The airline also employs more than 33,000 people in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, according a web page from 2019. 

DFW Airport saw more than 62.5 million passengers in 2021, making it the second busiest in the world by passenger volume, the airport says on its website.

It said it hoped to have the ground stop lifted ‘shortly’ but no time was provided. 

DFW air traffic control put out a notice just before 11am saying that the fuel system was 'offline' and being inspected due to the fire

DFW air traffic control put out a notice just before 11am saying that the fuel system was ‘offline’ and being inspected due to the fire