Control Tower Fire Forces Evacuation, Flight Delays at Charlotte's Airport

By Joe Marusak

Source The Charlotte Observer (TNS)

March 2, 2020

A fire in the control tower at Charlotte Douglas International Airport forced an evacuation and caused flight delays Saturday morning, airport officials said.

“There was an equipment issue inside the FAA Tower,” airport officials tweeted just before 10 a.m. “Operations are impacted and there may be some delays.”

No injuries were reported. Officials have not said how much damage the fire caused.

The tower was evacuated at 9:17 a.m. “due to a fire that originated in an air duct on the ninth floor of the tower building,” the FAA said in a statement. “The fire was extinguished and non-essential employees were evacuated. Air traffic controllers remained in the facility and handled traffic at a reduced rate.”

Evacuated workers returned to the tower at 9:45 a.m., according to the FAA. “The facility resumed normal operations at 9:55 a.m.,” FAA officials said in the statement.

By 12:30 p.m., the airport had experienced 227 flight delays, according to FlightAware.com, although the number of canceled inbound and outbound flights due to the fire was unknown.

———

Visit The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, N.C.) at www.charlotteobserver.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.