It was a very long Sunday for air-traffic controllers at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, where the control tower had to be evacuated twice after fire alarms rang out, briefly pushing local operations to neighboring facilities.
The first alarm hit in the predawn hours, forcing controllers out of the tower for about 18 minutes. A second alarm sounded that evening, leading to another evacuation that lasted roughly 25 minutes. During both outages, nearby air-traffic facilities stepped in to manage CVG’s airspace while the tower was empty.
In a statement to the Cincinnati Enquirer, the Federal Aviation Administration said the first alarm went off at about 5:47 a.m., with the tower cleared for around 18 minutes. The second alarm came at about 6:30 p.m. and triggered an approximately 25-minute evacuation. An FAA inspection found no evidence of fire, and the agency told the paper that the Indianapolis Air Route Traffic Control Center briefly assumed responsibility for the tower’s airspace while controllers were out of the building.
Per the CVG Airport, the airport handled roughly nine million passengers last year and is home to the largest Amazon Air hub in the world. That mix of passenger traffic and heavy cargo operations means even short interruptions at the tower can send ripples through arrivals and departures during busy windows. Airport officials did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment, according to reporting.
How the FAA handles tower evacuations
The FAA’s contingency procedures allow neighboring Air Route Traffic Control Centers (ARTCCs) and Terminal Radar Approach Control facilities (TRACONs) to take over sequencing and en route control when a tower is cleared out, while local controllers and emergency crews handle on-the-ground checks. Those handoffs are designed to preserve safety but can slow arrivals and departures because runway and surface duties require personnel on site. For more on contingency planning and operational guidance, see the FAA air-traffic publications.
What travelers should expect
It was not immediately clear whether the evacuations caused delays or cancellations, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported. Travelers with flights at CVG should confirm status with their airline and keep an eye on the airport’s official updates for the latest information. The FAA and airport sources told the Enquirer that controllers returned to the tower after checks were completed and operations resumed.
