Flights delayed at Dallas airport after worker tests positive for coronavirus, second time in less than a week

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Operations have resumed at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) after the airspace briefly closed on Monday night due to an air traffic controller testing positive for COVID-19. It was the second time in less than a week that the air hub suspended activity after an employee tested positive for the viral disease.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) closed the airspace around the Texas air hub around 6:55 p.m. CST and reopened the space around 8:15 p.m. while the Terminal Radar Approach Control Facility (TRACON) was cleaned, WFAA reports. The scheduled sanitization impacted flights, the airport tweeted.

The FAA closed the airspace around Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport around 6:55 p.m. on Jan. 4. (iStock)

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During that time, FAA controllers worked from the center tower at the airport, which is one of the busiest in the nation.

Notably, the same situation unfolded at DFW just five days earlier. On Dec. 30, flights were briefly grounded because an air control tower had to be cleaned, after two other workers tested positive for the coronavirus over a three-day period.

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For better or worse, more and more people seem to be traveling by commercial air. On Sunday, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screened over 1.3 million passengers at airports across America, a record high for security screening checkpoints since the pandemic began in March 2020.

January 3 is traditionally one of the busiest travel days of the year, following the Christmas holiday and the start of the new year, TSA spokesperson Lisa Farbstein said.

Fox News’ Daniella Genovese contributed to this report.