Air traffic was slowly returning to normal late Friday after an early-morning arson fire at the FAA Chicago Air Route Traffic Control Center (Chicago Center) facility in Aurora, Illinois, affected at least 1,950 flights. Chicago Center handles IFR traffic over some or all of the states of Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin. As of 8:30 a.m. CDT, the fire had been extinguished. First responders to the fire, reported at 5:45 a.m. CDT, found a man in the basement trying to cut his own throat, according to a variety of news sources. He was taken to a hospital for treatment. He is being questioned about the fire. He is reported to be a contractor who was working at the site.
A ground stop was in place at O’Hare International and Midway International Airports. The FAA estimated that flights will not start before 10:00 a.m. CDT. Airlines were reporting that flights will be delayed until noon. The FAA is reporting that airspace management duties for some of Chicago Center’s airspace have been transferred to other Centers. One employee of the Center was treated for smoke inhalation. Fire investigators are on the scene. As of 1:00 p.m. EDT, the FAA’ website was reporting that flights into and out of the Chicago area were proceeding at a reduced rate and encouraged travelers who had airline reservations today to contact their airline to check on flight status.
