Friday evening at the three major airports in the New York metropolitan area is being marked by canceled flights and stranded passengers. A nationwide ban on takeoffs, imposed this afternoon by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), remains in effect.
For travelers in New York and New Jersey, it is the second blow of the day. The FAA had already halted traffic at LaGuardia in the morning because of strong wind and rain, then limited the number of arrivals until late evening. Flights were also canceled at JFK and Newark. In the afternoon, a communications failure at air traffic control centers was added to the mix, and at 3:54 p.m. takeoffs were stopped across the country.
At LaGuardia alone, more than 260 flights were canceled Friday and about 600 were delayed, Fox News reported. Its reporter spoke with passengers in the terminal. Some of them were preparing to spend the night at the airport.
Customers of two of the region’s most important carriers will be hit hard. JetBlue, which has a base at JFK, and United, for which Newark is one of the main hubs, announced they would cancel most of their remaining evening flights. The airlines are allowing passengers to change reservations free of charge.
The FAA says the cause was a telecommunications failure, and takeoffs will resume gradually as communications are restored. No timeline has been given. Aircraft already in the air are landing normally, and individual international flights are being cleared to depart. More than 5,000 flights have already been canceled across the United States, and airlines are scratching more from Saturday’s schedule.
Before heading to JFK, LaGuardia or Newark, it is worth checking your flight status directly with your airline.
Source: Nowy Dziennik
