Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport expects 4,000 travelers to spend Friday night in terminals.
Officials at DFW Airport said that more than 750 departures had been scrubbed at the airport from all carriers, and that number represented about 90 percent of the Friday flight schedule. De to the high number of cancellations, the airport expects about 4,000 travelers to stay the night in terminals.
The south entrance of DFW Airport, at state Highway 183 eastbound, has been temporarily closed as of 8 p.m. Department of Public Safety officials are assisting Fort Worth police in providing traffic control for the area.
DFW Airfield Operations crews have been plowing, treating and monitoring runways, ramps and taxiways throughout the day and have kept at least one runway operational throughout the day, allowing for a limited number of flights to operate.
Conditions at the airport were expected to improve earlier on Friday and the airport's de-icing facilities are operational and are conducting de-icing operations for every departure.
In anticipation of hosting thousands of stranded travelers overnight, the airport will provide cots, blankets, toiletry kits, diapers and formula for those needing assistance. The airport also has about a dozen airport concessions that are expected to remain open for 24 hours.
Airport officials urge travelers to check the status of their flight with their airline before heading out to the airport.
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American Airlines has canceled roughly 1,400 AA and American Eagle flights, system-wide, due to severe weather across Texas.
The airline said they have limited operations out of DFW Friday but are putting people into position to return to a more normal operation on Saturday.
Fort Worth-based American Airlines proactively canceled half of the total number of scrubbed flights on Thursday and said that they are allowing customers a one-time change of plans for free, provided certain restrictions are met. One of those restrictions is that travelers must be ticketed through one of the following airports.
- Cincinnati, OH (CVG)
- Columbus, OH (CMH)
- Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas (DFW)
- Dayton, OH (DAY)
- Evansville, IN (EVV)
- Little Rock, AR (LIT)
- Memphis, TN (MEM)
- Northwest Arkansas Regional, AR (XNA)
- Oklahoma City, OK (OKC)
- Springfield, MO (SGF)
- Tulsa, OK (TUL)
Meanwhile, Dallas Love Field tweeted Friday stated that Delta, United and Seaport airlines canceled all flights until noon. Dallas-based Southwest Airlines tweeted it had more than 50 cancellations Friday, but that the airline is operating and travelers should check online for flight delays.
