Chaos settles at Dallas Love Field Airport after a day of long lines and delays
DALLAS – The check-in chaos at Love Field has improved after Thursday was filled with long lines and delays.
By 7 a.m. Friday, the airport's operations team reported a return to average passenger volume and operational levels, a spokesperson from the airport said.
Southwest Airlines blamed a broken baggage screening machine for the problems on Thursday. Airport officials also said the "extremely high volume of departing passengers checking luggage is causing congestion in the check-in process."
"This is crazy," said Brandon Rhodes, who was planning on flying to Las Vegas. "I've never seen nothing like this before."
One traveler told CBS News Texas that she waited in line for more than two hours and she still wasn't all the way through the line.
Some passengers waited in line for more than three hours Thursday, causing them to miss their flights and scramble to make other arrangements.
"We arrived two hours early, and as we were in our Uber, we saw the line literally down the street and we looked at each other and said oh no," said Brittney Reed, who was trying to fly home to Phoenix. "We've had some horrible airport experiences but I've never seen a crowd like this in my life."
The baggage screening issue was compounded by the high volume of travelers Thursday. Thousands of visitors were in town for the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority convention, where Vice President Kamala Harris was the keynote speaker.
"We have flooded Love Airport as well as the DFW, and we're all headed home," said Alicia Lewis, an AKA member. "So the lines are very long. Pack your patience. But we do everything with a smile."
Although airport operations were back to normal Friday, the airport said they still recommend travelers arrive at least two hours before their plane departs as TSA expects this summer to be the busiest ever.