Summary
- A fire alarm at Dallas Love Field caused an evacuation, but no fire was reported.
- The alarm was activated in a mechanical room.
- Southwest Airlines had delays as it reportedly took one hour for travelers to get through security.
A fire alarm at Dallas Love Field (DAL) caused the airport to be evacuated on Saturday. No fire was reported, but officials are investigating to determine the cause of the alarm.
It is believed that the alarm went off around 10:00 as several passengers were at the airport and going through the security checkpoint. The incident resulted in delays as travelers had to be rescreened.
Clearing the checkpoint
A passenger by the name of Egan Fire on X was flying on Delta Air Lines from DAL to Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL). The traveler posted a video showing a completely empty security checkpoint as the fire alarm continued to sound off.
According to DAL, the alarm was activated in a mechanical room. The airport said in a statement that it was working with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to accommodate the impacted passengers.
“A fire alarm was activated on Saturday morning in a mechanical room at the airport. Airport staff and Dallas Fire Rescue immediately responded. At this time, the cause of the alarm is still under investigation. Airport staff are working with TSA to begin rescreening passengers.”
Dallas Fire-Rescue had cleared the scene by around 11:00, allowing TSA to reopen the security checkpoint. DAL confirmed that “no fire was reported,” but some delays were expected with the rescreening process. No other impacts were reported.
“Repopulate the terminal”
A TSA spokesperson confirmed that officials were working to allow passengers to return to the terminal.
“Officer are working to repopulate the terminal after a fire alarm evacuation. If you’re traveling today, check with airline about schedule and allow enough time to clear security.”
In an update, Egan Fire posted a photo showing a large number of people outside the security checkpoint in what appeared to be an unorganized scene.
The passenger said, “It’s getting packed and no one is organizing how this “repopulation of the terminal” is going to happen.”
Flight impacts
DAL said that travelers should anticipate “slight delays,” but some travelers explained that the impacts were more than minor. Another traveler explained on X that the airport was in chaos.
“Slight delay is an understatement, people missing flights, chaos to rebook…massive amount of people..more like hours of delay!! Been here since 9:45 and took over an hour just to get through security.”
Julie Philipson, the lead meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Las Vegas, said that any traveler on Southwest Airlines flights on Saturday should “prepare for potential delays.” The carrier is the largest operator at DAL, accounting for more than 95% of the airport’s market share. According to FlightAware, the airline had more than 40 delays, but no cancelations on Saturday.
Photo: Harry Thomas Flower | Shutterstock
Egan Fire explained that Delta delayed their ATL-bound flight. The traveler reportedly had a connecting flight in Atlanta that required a terminal change and was worried that the delay could cause them to miss the next flight.
Delta and Alaska Airlines are the other two carriers that operate at DAL. Delta flies daily to ATL, while Alaska has service to Seattle Tacoma International Airport (SEA). There was no word on whether Alaska’s flight was impacted.