Updated at 11:20 a.m. ET
Flights in and out of Chicago’s two airports came to a halt Friday morning after a fire at an air traffic control facility.
The Associated Press says: “The fire started in the basement of the Chicago Air Route Traffic Control Center in Aurora, about 40 miles west of downtown Chicago, city of Aurora spokesman Dan Ferrelli said in an emailed statement.”
The Chicago Tribune quotes police as saying the fire was deliberately set but “is no terrorist act.”
The Trib quotes Aurora police Chief Greg Thomas, as saying that the incident appears to be “a local issue with a contract employee and nothing else.”
“The employee was found in the basement of the radar facility suffering from self-inflicted wounds, police said. He was taken to a hospital and the radar center was shut down and evacuated.”
Flightaware.com reports that as of 9:20 a.m. CDT (10:20 ET), more than 800 flights at the two airports had been canceled.
Flightaware.com CEO Daniel Baker says “major airlines, regional flights, foreign air carriers, cargo companies and all flights in and out of these airports” have been affected.
At 6 a.m., the Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA) issued a statement saying it had been notified that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Tower in Aurora, had been evacuated due to fire.
“Both O’Hare and Midway International Airports are in a ground stop, meaning no arrivals or departures,” it said.
At Midway, Southwest Airlines has suspended flights until noon, the statement said.
The AP says that at O’Hare’s Terminal 3, long lines formed at ticket counters.
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