Ground Stop, Delay At DIA Were Due To FAA Facility Cleaning After Positive COVID Test
DENVER (CBS4) - After a Federal Aviation Administration employee tested positive for COVID-19, a ground stop was put into effect at Denver International Airport for a short time on Tuesday. Following that, a ground delay for incoming flights was put into place. That led to some late arrivals for flights in the afternoon and early evening.
The FAA told CBS4 the ground stop lasted from 3 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. It was apparently initiated after the positive test result came in the previous day. The FAA then cleaned one of their facilities at the airport and that led to the ground delay for the incoming flights. By 5:45 p.m. that delay was lifted and the cleaning was completed.
FAA.GOV LINK: FAA Facilities Affected by COVID-19
The FAA employee worked in DIA's TRACON facility. TRACON stands for Terminal Radar Approach Control. The TRACON oversees traffic that is approaching and departing from the airport's airspace.
The FAA told CBS4 that "more than 200 towers, TRACONs and en route centers have had employees with positive COVID cases" and the short cleanings have been done across the country in similar manners after positive tests.
"We have had a lot of experience in planning for and responding to COVID-related facility closures so the operational impact is limited whenever they occur now," FAA spokesman Allen Kenitzer said.
Information About Flights Delays At Denver International Airport
The website FlightAware.com constantly tracks delays and flight cancellations at Denver International Airport, which goes by the airport code DEN and is known to locals in Colorado as DIA.
Get current information about DEN flights at flightaware.com.
Get the latest updates on CBS4's reporting on the Great Hall Project at DIA.
Visit DIA's website at flydenver.com.
