Storms in Texas Force Diversion of Flights to City

By Ja’Rena Lunsford, The Daily Oklahoman

May 25–Stormy weather brought extra traffic to Will Rogers World Airport Thursday when flights headed to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport were diverted to Oklahoma City.

Will Rogers spokeswoman Jennifer James McCollum said American Airlines flights from DFW started coming to Oklahoma City around 1 p.m. as lightning and rain forced the Dallas airport to close its ramps.

“The airport was very busy,” she said.

David Magana, manager of public affairs for DFW, said he was not surprised airlines decided to divert to another airport.

“We closed our ramps and held departures and arrivals, which meant planes had to circle or divert (to another airport),” Magana said.

DFW was expected to be in delay mode for the rest of the evening, Magana said.

Diverting to Tulsa International was not a first choice for many airlines Thursday due to the airport’s power outage, said Tulsa International Spokeswoman Alexis Higgins.

Tulsa International experienced a power outage Wednesday evening when a 450-pound switch gear went out, leaving the airport running on generators — with no air conditioning.

“That’s one of the systems that can’t be supported by the generators,” Higgins said of the AC.

Tulsa International visitors spent Thursday in low light. Higgins said the airport only turned on critical lights, such as in some of the restrooms — not all. She said light above the ticket counter was reduced to 50 percent.

The new switch gear, which had to be ordered from a company in Tennessee, was expected to arrive in Tulsa at 7 p.m. Thursday and be installed by midnight.

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Copyright (c) 2007, The Daily Oklahoman

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

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