DALLAS—Flights to Dallas are booking quickly for the total solar eclipse in Dallas next year.
On April 8, 2024, Dallas-Fort Worth area residents will witness a once-in-a-lifetime event, a total solar eclipse, or when the moon passes between the Earth and the sun, casting a shadow that will totally block the sun in the region.
According to flight tracker Cirium, there are 4,724 flights to Dallas-Fort Worth’s two commercial airports from April 5 to April 8. On April 8, the day of the eclipse, 1,189 flights will leave DFW International Airport and Dallas Love Field combined.
But the number of flights narrows even more during those magic four minutes when the sun will be completely hidden by the moon starting at 1:40 p.m.
Either in the air or visiting on the ground, demand for air travel in and out of North Texas around the eclipse is expected to be busy.
As of Dec. 11, travel planning app Hopper found domestic roundtrip airfare to Dallas Love Field to be more expensive than traveling to DFW Airport from April 5 to April 8. To Dallas Love Field flights average: $569 on April 5, $609 on April 6, $670 on April 7 and $517 on April 8.
For roundtrip flights to DFW Airport, airfares are averaging $334 on April 5, $349 on April 6, $462 on April 7 and $362 on April 8.
- Southwest flight 1252, departing Dallas Love Field at 12:45 p.m. for Pittsburgh.
- Southwest flight 1721, departing Austin at 12:50 p.m. for Indianapolis.
- Southwest flight 1910, departing St. Louis at 1:20 p.m. for Houston (Hobby).
Kelly Korreck, NASA program manager for the solar eclipses said the No. 1 priority for viewers should be safety.
“Even up in the airplane, you’re going to need eye protection like you would on the ground,” Korreck said. “That is important.”
She said the tricky part may be finding where the sun is going to be at that time of day versus the angle the plane is flying out. Most commercial airlines try to stay relatively parallel to the earth and their trajectory, she said, so if the angle is too far up, passengers may or may not be able to see out of the window of the aircraft.
And if you happen to snag one of those expensive flights along the path of totality, Korreck said those passengers would get to see the eclipse a little bit longer.
At approximately 12:23 p.m. on April 8 in Dallas, the moon will begin to cover the sun, with totality—or total coverage of the sun—beginning around 1:40 p.m. and ending around 4 minutes later. The moon will then move away from the sun, with the spectacle ending around 3:02 p.m. Exact timing will depend on location in the metroplex.
