WASHINGTON, Sept 19 (Reuters) - More than 1,800 flight

were delayed and hundreds were canceled at the two Dallas-area

airports on Friday, after a telecom outage prompted the Federal

Aviation Administration to issue ground stops.

The FAA said it was slowing traffic due to a reported

local telephone company equipment issue that does not involve

FAA equipment. "The FAA is working with the telephone company to

determine the cause," the agency said.

The FAA said it had halted departures to Dallas Fort

Worth until 11 p.m. ET and to Dallas Love Field until at least

8:45 p.m. FlightAware said airlines have canceled 20% of their

flights at Dallas.

American Airlines ( AAL ) canceled more than 200 flights

and delayed more than 500, nearly all tied to the Dallas telecom

outage -- impacting a quarter of its schedule. Southwest

Airlines ( LUV ) had delayed more than 1,100 flights, or 27% of

its schedule, according to FlightAware, which tracks flights.

The FAA has faced numerous communications issues this

year.

On Thursday, the FAA slowed flights into Denver

International Airport because automation issues between an

approach control tower and Denver air traffic control were

requiring manual handoff procedures for flights, causing delays

averaging 30 to 45 minutes.

A series of issues involving the aging U.S. air traffic

control system prompted Congress in July to award an initial

$12.5 billion in funding to overhaul the system, which FAA

leaders say is having tech issues almost everyday.

The FAA air traffic control network's woes have been

years in the making, but a rush of high-profile mishaps,

near-misses, staffing shortages and a catastrophic crash in

January between a U.S. Army helicopter and regional American

Airlines ( AAL ) jet that killed 67 has spiked public alarm.