Tag: ohare
Two Under Observation At Hospitals After Falling Ill During Flights From Liberia To O’Hare

Two Under Observation At Hospitals After Falling Ill During Flights From Liberia To O’Hare

Chicago Tribune

(MCT) — Two people who arrived at O’Hare International Airport from Liberia have been placed under observation at Chicago hospitals, under the city’s procedures for handling Ebola, after they fell ill during their flights, officials said.
Health officials stressed that “at this time there have been no confirmed cases of Ebola and there is no threat to the general public.”
In fact, the officials said they decided against testing the two for Ebola after initial medical evaluations but did send them to Lurie Children’s Hospital and Rush University Medical Center for observation. They are being kept in isolation.
The two hospitals are among four in Chicago that have agreed to take Ebola patients from other hospitals and health care providers should any cases appear in the area. The others are Northwestern Memorial Hospital and the University of Chicago Medical Center.
The child had vomited during a flight from Liberia to O’Hare, city health officials said. Upon landing, the child was screened by federal authorities and was found to have no other symptoms and no known risk of exposure. The child was taken to Lurie “out of an abundance of caution” and was undergoing observation in isolation.
Following city guidelines, the child’s family was under quarantine until the evaluation was completed.
The other passenger, an adult traveling alone from Liberia, reported nausea and diarrhea during another flight from Liberia. The passenger reported having been diagnosed with typhoid fever in August but had a normal temperature and reported no known risk of exposure to Ebola during a screening.
The person was taken to Rush for medical evaluation and observation, health officials said.
The city released no other details of the passengers or their flights.

AFP Photo/Jay Directo

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FAA Reviews Security After Chicago Air Traffic Center Fire

FAA Reviews Security After Chicago Air Traffic Center Fire

Washington (AFP) — The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced Monday a nationwide security review, three days after a fire at a key Chicago air traffic facility led to ongoing travel chaos.

More than 300 flights out of O’Hare International Airport — one of the world’s busiest — were canceled Monday morning, Chicago’s Department of Aviation reported.

Other inbound and outbound flights were running at least 20 minutes late, it said.

The situation was better at the city’s smaller, domestic Midway airport where some airlines reported occasional delays of more than 45 minutes and “just a few flights” were canceled.

The fire at the Chicago En Route Center in suburban Aurora — allegedly lit by a suicidal contract worker — prompted the cancelation of more than 1,500 flights at O’Hare on Friday alone.

Delays and cancelations dragged on throughout the weekend as technicians scrambled to get the facility up and running again — a task due to be completed around October 13.

“The damaged communications equipment needs to be replaced entirely,” FAA chief Michael Huerta told the annual conference of the Air Traffic Control Association outside Washington.

Huerta announced a 30-day review of security protocols at FAA air traffic facilities across the United States “to make sure we have the most robust policies and practices in place.”

“If we need to make changes as a result of what happened on Friday to improve the system, we will not hesitate to do so,” said Huerta, according to a prepared text.

The security review will run in tandem with a rethink of the FAA’s contingency plans for keeping air traffic moving as safely and smoothly as possible in the event of another major disruption.

Officials say the fire in the basement telecommunications room was ignited by Brian Howard, a 36-year-old contract worker who was reportedly upset at an impending transfer to Hawaii.

According to a federal complaint, Howard had posted a message on his Facebook page saying he was going to “take out” the control center and kill himself.

Paramedics reportedly discovered him at the scene in the process of cutting his throat. Two knives and a lighter were also found, according to the complaint.

Howard, who remained in hospital Monday, has been charged with destruction of an aviation facility, a felony that can lead to 20 years in prison.

The Chicago En Route Center is responsible for directing air traffic overflying five Midwestern states. It also guides flights into and out of Chicago’s busy airspace.

When the fire struck, those tasks were reassigned to other air traffic control facilities, some as far off as Kansas and Ohio, with Aurora-based controllers sent to those locations to help with their extra workload.

AFP Photo/Scott Olson

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Two Weeks Needed To Restore Damaged Chicago Air Center: FAA

Two Weeks Needed To Restore Damaged Chicago Air Center: FAA

Chicago (AFP) — Workers will need about two more weeks to restore operations at a Chicago air traffic control center damaged two days ago by fire, U.S. aviation authorities said Sunday.

Some 2,000 flights were grounded at two major Chicago airports on Friday after a disgruntled employee lit a fire at the air traffic control center and tried to commit suicide.

“Teams will be working around the clock to install equipment, run cable and restore network connections at the facility,” the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement.

“The FAA has set a target to return Chicago Center to full service by October 13,” the agency said.

Air transit into and out of the city’s bustling O’Hare International and Midway airports was completely shut down as a result of the blaze at the FAA’s facility in the town of Aurora, Illinois.

Of the flights canceled Friday, more than 1,500 were from O’Hare, one of the nation’s busiest airports, leaving thousands of frustrated passengers stranded and unsure when they would be able to travel.

According to a federal complaint, 36-year-old Brian Howard had posted a message on his Facebook page saying he was going to “take out” the control center and kill himself.

Flight schedules gradually were returning to normal over the weekend and by Sunday, both airports were operating at more than one-half normal capacity.

“The FAA steadily has increased the number of flights arriving and departing at O’Hare and Midway,” the agency said in a statement.

By Saturday, “air traffic controllers safely managed about 60 percent of typical traffic” at O’Hare, the aviation authority said, adding that the figure for Midway was over 75 percent.

Air traffic controllers who normally work at the Chicago En Route Center in Aurora, Illinois, are currently working at other nearby FAA air traffic facilities to help safely maximize the traffic flow while the damaged Chicago Center is repaired.

AFP Photo/Scott Olson

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Fire At Air Control Facility Halts Chicago Flights

Fire At Air Control Facility Halts Chicago Flights

Chicago (AFP) – Air traffic was temporarily halted at two major airports in Chicago early Friday, after a fire broke out at a radar facility run by the Federal Aviation Authority, officials said.

Dozens of flights into and out of the city’s bustling O’Hare and Midway airports were cancelled, as firefighters worked to extinguish the blaze at the FAA’s facility in the town of Aurora.

Local news reports said authorities suspect arson as the cause of the fire.

Local news reports said officials arriving at the site found an adult male suffering from an apparent self-inflicted wounds. The man is being treated at an area hospital, reports said.

Officials said the fire, which erupted shortly before dawn, has been extinguished and an investigation launched.

Authorities said operations at the FAA’s Aurora center, which is responsible for guiding high-altitude air traffic into and out of Chicago’s airports, would be taken over by other air traffic sites in the region.

O’Hare, the second-largest airport in the United States, carries more than 15 million passengers each year.

©afp.com / Scott Olson