Chicago airports cancel 600 flights, still trying to recover from control-center sabotage

Flight cancellations are still plaguing Chicago's international airports, two days after an act of sabotage at a regional control center brought operations to a halt.

The Chicago Department of Aviation says that as of late Sunday morning, 550 flights had been canceled at O'Hare and 50 had been canceled at Midway.

At the height of the travel misery Friday, more than 2,000 flights in and out of the airports were canceled, sending waves of travel disruption rippling across the country.

Authorities say a contract employee started a fire in the basement telecommunications room of a control center in the Chicago suburb of Aurora and then attempted to commit suicide by slashing his throat.

Thirty-six-year-old Brian Howard of Naperville was charged with destruction of aircraft or aircraft facilities.