An unexpected ground stop on Friday at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and Dallas Love Field disrupted travel for hundreds of passengers, with more than half of the scheduled flights delayed or canceled.

The Federal Aviation Administration blamed the halt on a local telephone equipment outage that began early in the afternoon. The issue affected flight operations, leaving travelers stranded in terminals and on planes for hours.

Passengers stranded, plans upended

Among those affected was a mother from Allen, Texas, who was headed to Florida to visit her son serving in the military.

"I haven't seen him in about 10 months," she said. "Sadly, all the flights tomorrow are booked also, so I'll be missing my weekend with him."

Six hours after her flight was canceled, she was still wa

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