Dozens of flights delayed at KCI after FAA closes air traffic tower for COVID cleaning
Dozens of flights were delayed at Kansas City International Airport Tuesday morning after the air traffic control tower was closed for COVID-related cleaning, according to airport officials.
The Federal Aviation Administration closed the tower about 6:30 a.m., causing a cascade of flight delays at the airport. The tower reopened at 9 a.m., the airport said on Twitter.
As of 10:15 a.m., 22 departing flights scheduled for the remainder of Tuesday were listed as being delayed, with the average delay being 54 minutes.
The bulk of the delays affected flights that departed in the morning, although there were some in the afternoon and evening that were listed as delayed. It was unknown if all of those delays were related to closing of the tower.
The closing of the air traffic control tower appeared to have a residual effect on arriving flights. As of 10:15 a.m., 22 flights scheduled to arrive later in the day on Tuesday were listed as being delayed. The average delay was 35 minutes.
People are encouraged to check with their airlines or flykci.com before heading to the airport to check on the status of their flight or the flight of the person they are picking up.
This story was originally published June 7, 2022 at 10:52 AM.
