A sinkhole discovered near a main runway at LaGuardia Airport in New York has shut down operations on one of the airport's two runways, the New York Post reported, citing officials. It added that hundreds of flights were delayed and cancelled. According to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the crew members spotted the sinkhole around 11:00 am Wednesday during a routine morning inspection of the airfield. Runway 4/22 was taken out of service immediately while emergency construction and engineering teams moved in to assess the damage and begin repairs.
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"The Port Authority is in close communication with airlines and airport partners and will continue providing updates as conditions evolve," a spokesperson said, as quoted.
"Travelers should expect delays and cancellations, particularly with forecast thunderstorms expected later today, and are strongly encouraged to check directly with their airlines for the latest flight status information."
With LaGuardia operating on just one remaining runway, capacity dropped sharply at one of the busiest times of day. The Federal Aviation Administration began slowing arrivals into the airport, and airlines adjusted schedules to cope with the reduced throughput.
As reported by WCNC, 17% of flights at LaGuardia were cancelled, and 22% of flights were delayed as of 5:00 pm ET.
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Passengers face issues
Several passengers took to social media to share their experience. As per the report, Kit Deason, an IT manager from Alabama, wrote, "We flew around Manhattan in a weird direction. Lately, with all the mishaps and near misses at major airports, I'm thankful they found it before a plane went into it. I hope there were no injuries."
"The pilot said that there were delays because the planes were 'single file lining up at LaGuardia'. They didn't say a sinkhole. I'm a firefighter, so I know if they're shutting down runways, there's a problem," Ryan Mastian said as quoted by the media outlet, which mentions that he flew American Airlines from Indianapolis to meet up with Deason.
Images from the scene, shared on social media, show crews working around a circular depression in the pavement, with heavy machinery and safety barriers in place. The Port Authority said it's working with airlines and airport partners to restore normal operations as quickly and safely as possible, but has not given a timeline for reopening the affected runway.
