Love Field returns to normal passenger traffic after Dallas airport was plagued by delays – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth

At Love Field Airport, passenger traffic has returned to normal, one day after a baggage screening machine was temporarily out of action for repairs, leading to hours-long queues at the baggage drop-off point.

The resulting traffic collapse meant that many passengers missed their flights and had to seek rebooking.

Marianna Raynor said she strategically planned her flight on Friday and intentionally avoided Love Field on a day when she knew it would be busy.

“It was crazy, but that’s to be expected at such big conferences,” Raynor said.

Raynor was referring to Alpha Kappa Alpha, a historically black sorority she has been a member of for decades. AKA held its national convention in Dallas this week, with a keynote address from Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday.

Raynor says attendees arrived steadily over the long holiday weekend, but most had booked their flights for Thursday.

“Yesterday it was like turning a small town into a big city at the airport,” Raynor said.

Compounding the problem, airport officials said one of the airport’s baggage kiosks experienced issues early Thursday morning, causing baggage drop-off to be slowed.

“It was total chaos,” said Aisha Taylor of Maryland. “Many sisters from our sorority missed their flights.”

Love Field confirmed that a baggage screening machine needed repairs, and although the repairs were completed by 7:30 a.m., the flood of delays had already begun due to the unusually high number of passengers, including many convention travelers, who needed to check their bags.

“Fear, obviously stress,” Taylor said.

The traffic jam at Love Field came amid what is expected to be the busiest summer ever for airlines across the country and here in Dallas at both Love Field and DFW Airport.

Love Field said passenger traffic was back to normal Friday morning and no congestion was expected, but still recommended passengers arrive at least two hours before departure.

Raynor says that anticipating the rush, she planned ahead and worked an extra day to travel back to DC.

“All I’m saying is, bring patience, try to be less stressed, and next time tell yourself, ‘These are the things I’m not going to do,'” Raynor said. “I’m not going to overpack.”