Flight Delays in Chicago and Europe While Dallas Recovers

Published on Sep 20, 2025, 6:50 pm CDT

5 min read

A fast-moving thunderstorm pattern over the Upper Midwest prompted the FAA to activate a ground delay program at Chicago O'Hare International Airport, ORD, late on September 20. Separately, a cyber incident affecting Collins Aerospace's MUSE check-in and boarding platform disrupted passenger processing at major European hubs, including London Heathrow, Brussels, and Berlin Brandenburg. Meanwhile, flight operations at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport and Dallas Love Field stabilized after a Friday telecom outage. Travelers should expect lingering delays, line buildups at manual check-in counters, and scattered schedule adjustments into the overnight period.

Key Points

Why it matters: Airport disruptions hit multiple regions at once, stretching airline recovery buffers.
Travel impact: ORD arrivals metered under a ground delay program, Europe check-in lines lengthen at LHR, BRU, and BER.
What's next: Brussels will trim Sunday departures to manage post-attack queues and prevent late cancellations.
FAA cites thunderstorms and staffing as ORD constraints, with average delays around 41 minutes during the program window.
Dallas-area airports report normalized operations after a fiber cut triggered widespread disruptions on September 19.

Snapshot

The FAA's Command Center issued a collaborative decision-making ground delay program for ORD from approximately 508 p.m. to 859 p.m. CDT, citing thunderstorms and staffing as limiting conditions. Average delays were about 41 minutes, with a posted maximum of 135 minutes. In Europe, an attack on Collins Aerospace's MUSE platform forced airports to pivot to manual procedures, producing cancellations and queues at London Heathrow, Brussels, and Berlin Brandenburg, with Brussels advising a 50 percent cut to Sunday departures to avoid gridlock. In North Texas, Dallas Fort Worth and Dallas Love Field recovered from a telecom-driven radar and comms outage, with American Airlines bearing the brunt of Friday's cancellations while Saturday operations largely normalized.

Background

Ground delay programs meter arrivals to match reduced airport capacity, assigning expect-departure clearance times at origin to smooth the inbound flow. These programs are common during convective weather and staffing constraints. The Europe disruption stems from a cyber incident tied to MUSE, a widely used common-use platform for check-in and boarding hosted by Collins Aerospace, part of RTX. When electronic counters fail, airports revert to manual check-in, which immediately slows throughput. The Dallas issue originated with cut fiber-optic cables serving FAA systems, cascading into Friday cancellations and Saturday morning delays before service stabilized. These events highlight the sensitivity of airline operations to weather, cyber risk, and third-party telecom reliability.

Latest Developments

FAA meters Chicago arrivals under ground delay program

The FAA's advisory shows ORD under a ground delay program from 508 p.m. to 859 p.m. CDT on September 20, with program rates stepping down as storms pinched arrival capacity. The message notes thunderstorms and staffing, confirms cancellation of an earlier ground stop, and details an average delay of 41 minutes with a maximum of 135 minutes. Flights from the contiguous United States and selected Canadian origins were included, with departures controlled via EDCTs. Travelers connecting through ORD should anticipate residual delays into the late evening, with some crews bumping up against duty time and aircraft rotations pushing minor knock-ons into Sunday morning.

Cyberattack on MUSE slows check-in at major European hubs

Airport operators and wire services reported a cyber-related disruption to Collins Aerospace's MUSE platform, affecting electronic check-in and bag-drop at London Heathrow, Brussels, Berlin Brandenburg, and other airports. Brussels Airport warned of significant Saturday impact and said it would cancel half of Sunday's departing flights to manage queues and minimize last-minute cancellations. Airlines shifted to manual procedures, which kept some operations moving, but delays and scattered cancellations persisted. RTX acknowledged the incident while investigations continued. Travelers departing affected hubs should arrive early, keep mobile boarding passes downloaded, and expect longer lines.

Dallas operations normalize after telecom outage

By Saturday, Dallas Fort Worth and Dallas Love Field operations returned to near-normal following a Friday telecom failure traced to cut Frontier Communications fiber. The outage disrupted FAA radar and radio links, driving widespread delays and cancellations, especially for American Airlines at DFW. FAA statements and carrier briefings emphasized restoration of services and the need for stronger redundancy. While schedules have largely recovered, some aircraft and crew displacements may cause minor residual delays on Saturday evening rotations.

Analysis

Three simultaneous pressure points, weather, cyber, and telecom, exposed different chokepoints in the global air travel system. The ORD ground delay program is the classic FAA response to convective weather and staffing constraints, smoothing inbound demand to keep arrival rates stable. For travelers, the practical effect is a later pushback at origin and reduced risk of airborne holding. The MUSE cyber incident demonstrates how a single software layer used by multiple airlines can become a bottleneck when compromised, forcing a reversion to manual counters and reducing throughput per lane. Airports like Brussels are choosing proactive cancellation to prevent terminal gridlock, a strategy that trades seat supply for predictability. The Dallas telecom failure underscores the fragility of third-party infrastructure supporting FAA surveillance and communications, although rapid restoration limited multi-day disruption. Net-net, travelers connecting through ORD should pad itineraries, Europe-bound passengers should leave extra time at check-in, and Dallas-area travelers can expect mostly normal operations with small residual timing issues.

Final Thoughts

Airport disruptions rarely travel alone. Weather-driven metering at ORD, a Europe-wide check-in slowdown, and a Texas telecom failure combined to stretch airline recovery curves on September 20. If you are flying tonight or early Sunday, verify your flight status often, download boarding passes, and avoid tight connections where possible. The biggest near-term risks are lingering queues at affected European hubs and rolling delay absorption on late ORD arrivals. Careful planning helps you sidestep the pain when airport disruptions stack up.