Oct. 8--Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport imploded the Hyatt West Hotel early Sunday morning. 

The vacant hotel toppled as planned after several hundred pounds of explosives were detonated. 

Officials originally scheduled the demolition for Sept. 16 to coincide with the United Way campaign kickoff festival, but postponed it after the terrorist attacks Sept. 11. 

"We're trying to be very low-key, out of respect for the tragedy that has occurred in New York and Washington," said Kevin Cox, senior executive vice president for D/FW Airport. "We don't want to draw attention to it." 

The 554-room hotel, vacant since May 1, was previously stripped of furniture and equipment to prepare it for demolition. 

D/FW Airport is in the midst of a $2.6 billion renovation that includes a new train system and an international terminal. The Hyatt's west tower was razed to make room for the new Terminal D, which is expected to open in 2005. 

The new terminal will provide the airport with an additional 23 gates, allowing airlines to serve an extra 12.8 million passengers annually. 

The implosion was planned for the early hours of Sunday so as not to interfere with air traffic, which is at its lightest. Only news media were allowed access to a small staging area. 

As officials prepared for the implosion, there was little activity around the site. No crowd gathered for the unannounced event. 

Airport officials closed International Parkway and the service roads 20 minutes before the implosion and reopened them afterward. 

The United Way campaign kickoff festival will not be rescheduled. 

People who purchased tickets to the event can receive a refund by calling the original point of purchase. Ticket money not refunded will be donated to local charitable programs of United Way agencies. 

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