Love Field says it returned to normal passenger volumes, one day after a baggage screening machine went down temporarily for repairs, leading to hours-long lines as passengers attempted to check bags.
The resulting gridlock led many passengers to miss flights and scramble to rebook.
Marianna Raynor said she was flying out Friday strategically, intentionally avoiding Love Field for a day she knew would be crowded.
“It’s been crazy, but you can expect that when you have large conferences such as this,” Raynor said.
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Raynor was referring to Alpha Kappa Alpha, a historically Black sorority she’s been a part of for decades. AKA hosted 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 booked flights out on Thursday.
“Yesterday was like putting a small town into a large city at the airport,” Raynor said.
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Compounding the problem, early Thursday morning, airport officials said one of the airport’s baggage machines began experiencing issues, which slowed down the process of checking luggage.
“It was complete chaos,” Aisha Taylor of Maryland said. “A lot of sorority sisters missed their flights.”
Love Field confirmed a baggage screening machine required repair and even though the repair was complete by 7:30 a.m., the exceptionally high volume of passengers, including many from the convention checking luggage, meant the cascade of delay had already started.
“Anxiety, stress obviously,” Taylor said.
The Love Field logjam was happening amid what’s expected to be the busiest travel summer for airlines nationwide ever and here in Dallas at both Love Field and DFW Airport.
Love Field said it had returned to normal passenger volume by midmorning Friday with no congestion expected but still recommended passengers arrive at least two hours prior to departure.
Raynor says expecting the busyness led her to plan ahead, working an extra day to travel back to D.C.
“I just say bring your patience, try to be less stressed and next time say, ‘these are the things I’m not going to do’,” Raynor said. “I’m not going to overpack.”
