Dallas Love Field baggage screening issues, convention attendees lead to long lines, officials say

DALLAS - The baggage check line at Dallas Love Field Airport stretched around the airport Thursday morning, and delays have continued into the evening.

An airport spokesperson blamed the mess on one of the baggage screening machines going down Thursday morning combined with tens of thousands of people leaving a convention in Dallas.

Officials say the screening machines problem had been resolved by 7:30 a.m. But a bigger factor was the number of departing passengers with carry-on bags that needed to be checked in.

Now, the airport is working through the backlog of passengers in the line.

Airport officials are pointing to the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority convention in Dallas as one of the big reasons for the crush on passengers on Thursday. 60,000 people attended the convention at Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center.

The airport posted on social media that travelers should arrive at the airport at least three hours early, especially if you plan to check luggage.

Love Field said that they are dealing with a large number of passengers and that the baggage screening machines are operating at full capacity.

Photos of long lines show people surrounding the baggage check. The line to drop off went all the way outside.

Emily Edwards from Frisco arrived at 6:30 a.m. for an 8:45 a.m. flight. 

"It's 9:30 now. We’ve been standing for three hours in the heat," she said.

The long lines were a common complaint from passengers.

"Terrible. There’s no communication. We’ve been in line for three hours," said AJ Rock Flores, who is traveling from Prosper.

Several people missed their flights. And missing a flight means missing so much more for so many people.

For Yolanda Dickerson from Frisco, it is her son's basketball game in Phoenix.

"I'm going to carry on. Like I said, I had a suitcase. I went and transferred what I had from the suitcase just so I didn’t have to get in this line," she said. "There needs to be a planning committee to accommodate things like this."

The FAA revealed Thursday that this is the busiest summer for air travel since before the 2008 recession, and Thursdays also happen to be the busiest day to fly. 

Airport officials say they don't have an estimate for when things should turn back to normal.