CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Dense fog held up Christmas Eve travelers at O’Hare and Midway international airports as flights were briefly grounded at both locations.
Flights at both airports were grounded due to fog Tuesday morning, but by 8:30 a.m., flights were moving again at both locations except for a “ground stop” for arrivals at O’Hare, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
It was unclear how long the advisory would continue.
So far, more than 30 flights have been canceled at O’Hare, and more than 70 flights have been canceled at Midway, split evenly between arrivals and departures, according to the Chicago Aviation Department.
Arrivals at O’Hare are delayed by an average of about 32 minutes, while arrivals at Midway are delayed by less than 15 minutes, the aviation department said. Departures at O’Hare have been held back by an average of 18 minutes, and at Midway are running with delays of under 15 minutes.
The National Weather Service issued a dense fog advisory for the Chicago area until 10 a.m. Cook, DuPage, Kane, McHenry, Winnebago and Boone are the counties most affected.
The foggy conditions are due to moisture that had blown in from the south in recent days mixing with chillier northerly winds overnight, National Weather Service meteorologist Kevin Donofrio said.
“These are just about the worst conditions you can have for flying,” Donofrio said. “When visibility gets down to a quarter-mile, that’s when it gets really dangerous for planes to land.”
The ground stop comes in the midst of one of the year’s busiest travel periods, as an estimated 5 million people pass through O’Hare and Midway for the holidays.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire & Chicago Sun-Times 2019. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)