Storms and equipment outages lead to ground stops at DFW Airport, Love Field

DALLAS - DFW International Airport and Dallas Love Field are leading the nation in delays and cancellations on one of the busiest travel days of the year.

The North Texas airports had ground stops on Monday because of the weather and a communications equipment issue.

Thanksgiving Travel Delays

What we know:

According to FlightAware.com, there were about 100 flights canceled to and from DFW Airport as of 1:30 p.m. on Monday. More than 765 were delayed.

At Love Field, there were 69 cancellations and 123 delays.

Most of the disruptions were due to the storms that moved through North Texas on Monday morning.

The Federal Aviation Administration also issued a ground stop between Houston and North Texas after what it called a "frequency outage" at the Fort Worth Air Traffic Control Center, halting flights for more than an hour between 12:30 to 1:45 p.m.

DFW Airport confirmed the ground stop was limited to DFW-bound departures from the Houston area, which was also hit by severe weather on Monday afternoon.

What we don't know:

The FAA hasn’t yet responded to questions about the cause of the equipment outage.

What they're saying:

The travel trouble is just adding to the anxiety for fliers who say they’ve had to deal with speed bump after speed bump to get to where they need to go for Thanksgiving.

"With the recent government shutdown, I think we were kind of worried just in general about flying around this time, and then hearing that there could be weather delays too, feeling really lucky that everything’s going to plan," said Emma Raider, who was flying out on Monday morning.

One traveler told us they were stuck on a plane in Houston, waiting to depart for Dallas. 

"Our next flight got pushed off. So now, instead of leaving at three o’clock, we have to leave at seven," said Janasheya Sterling. "Everything we had planned for Monday is now out the window."

For many, the day was filled with anxiety, frustration, and long waits.

"I’m regretting booking the flight today," said Athena McDowell, who worried she wouldn’t make it home for work the next morning.

"You just never know what’s going to happen," said Ana Nino. "To be honest, it’s kind of like a waiting game."

Others tried to keep their spirits up despite the setbacks. "Oh no, I’m covered by the blood of the Lamb. Jesus got me, so no," said Sterling, laughing off the delays.

Still, for some travelers, the stress was unavoidable.

"It’s really uncomfortable to sleep here, because you either sleep on the floor or one of the benches," Nino added. "It’s very annoying to do."

Another passenger summed it up as,"It’s stressful, if we would’ve known earlier, we could have stayed home," said Rahul Danjani.

How to Check for Flight Delays

Travelers can check for flight disruptions by:

• Checking DFW Airport or Love Field’s official website
• Checking your flight status with your airline, such as American Airlines or Southwest Airlines
• Checking the FlightAware.com Misery Map for flight disruptions across the country
• Checking TSA wait times at DFW Airport or Love Field

Federal Flight Restrictions Lifted

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said all federal flight restrictions have been lifted, and air traffic staffing is now back at pre-shutdown levels.

That's just in time for the 31 million people who are expected to fly this week for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Tuesday is expected to be the busiest travel day of the week.