Hundreds of flights at O’Hare International Airport were delayed Tuesday after a water pipe burst in the airport’s main air traffic control tower overnight.
The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed that a water pipe burst in the tower shortly after 1 a.m. Tuesday morning. Air traffic controllers were evacuated and were able to continue operations at the airport’s other air traffic facilities, according to the FAA.
Still, a ground delay program was in place at O’Hare Tuesday and the main air traffic tower remained closed, according to an FAA alert. Delays were expected to average around an hour and twenty minutes.
As of mid-morning Tuesday, 625 flights departing out of or arriving at O’Hare over the last 24 hours had been delayed, according to city data. The average delay for arrivals was 42 minutes. Only 15 flights at O’Hare had been canceled.
Chicago’s Department of Aviation directed questions to the FAA.
Investigators are looking into the cause of the burst pipe, the FAA said.
It was very cold in Chicago on Tuesday.
