The Federal Aviation Administration on Tuesday issued a ground stop for flights to Dallas Love Field as the airport responded to a fire alarm.
A ground stop prevents flights destined for North Texas from taking off until the FAA lifts the advisory.
Dallas Fire and Rescue was dispatched to Love Field at 2:09 p.m., after the alarm was triggered at the airport, Jason Evans, a spokesperson for the department, told The News in an email.
“The first arriving engine company responded to the scene knowing nothing more than a report of ‘overheating equipment’,” said Evans in a follow up email.
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“According to those firefighters, the alarm was triggered by an unspecified malfunction within an HVAC unit. They checked the unit and confirmed there was no fire, or even smoke, and advised Love Field that there was no danger.”
Evans said there were no reported injuries and that the HVAC issue was “left in the hands” of airport maintenance
Patrick Clarke, a spokesperson for Love Field, initially confirmed the evacuation. Shortly after 3 p.m., Clarke said the alert had been cleared and that travelers were preparing to be re-screened at security.
Southwest Airlines is headquartered at Love Field and operates 18 of the airport’s 20 gates.
“We held our outbound flights for customers who needed to be re-screened,” Lynn Lunsford, a Southwest spokesperson, told The News in an email. “We are resuming normal operations, although we expect some delays throughout the afternoon as we catch up to the schedule.”
The FAA said that the stop was in effect until at least 4 p.m. and the probability it would be extended was between 30% and 60%.