Ground stop at Dallas airports lifted after smoke in air traffic control facility

Travelers are feeling the ripple effects of grounded and delayed landings Wednesday afternoon in and out of both DFW and Love Field airports.

The DFW Terminal Radar Approach Control, which manages airspace across most of North Texas, was forced to evacute because of reports of smoke in the building.

It’s believed the smoke may have come from nearby construction.

This forced a ground stop at DFW Airport and Dallas Love Field for more than an hour, but that was long enough to cause major issues for travelers.

DFW DPS responded to the alarm, and air controllers were evacuated.

American Airlines reported 28 diversions as a result of the ground stop.

Southwest Airlines said 35 departures were canceled.

Tennille Smith said she was supposed to go to a wedding in St. Louis, but that plan hit a major snag.

"We get to the airport in Houston and find out that our flight has been canceled, so they put us on another flight to get us to Dallas to St. Louis," she said. "We get here to Dallas, that flight was canceled. Now we are just here."

"This is amazing. I hate it for all the passengers. There’s so many cancellations, so many late arrivals, delayed flights," said Barbara McGuire, who was waiting for her husband to arrive.

During the ground stop, the two control towers at DFW remained staffed and operational.

Controllers from the radar room were relocated to the control towers to resume limited service in the affected airspace for both DFW and Dallas Love Field, but that did not stop a cascade of delays and cancellations.

Love Field said it is prepared to keep the terminal open all night and even put out cots for those who may need a place to sleep.