New Yorkers were warned of probable travel mayhem at JFK Airport on Friday, as one of its terminals remained closed for a second day following a fire caused by a power outage.
“JFK Terminal 1 will remain closed on [Friday] due to electrical issues as the Port Authority continues to work with the terminal’s operator to restore flight operations as soon as possible,” the major travel hub tweeted at 11 p.m. Thursday.
Before arriving at the airport, passengers should contact their airlines to confirm flight status.
An electrical panel failure caused a fire overnight on Thursday, the airline revealed in a message, adding that the fire was “immediately extinguished.”
On Thursday, airport personnel tried to reroute as many aircraft as possible through the airport’s other four terminals, which were unaffected by the incident.
According to Flight Aware, 18 flights out of JFK were canceled and 15 were delayed on Friday, representing just 2% of all planned flights.
Terminal 1 at JFK Airport will remain closed on 2/17 due to electrical concerns, as the Port Authority continues to work with the terminal’s operator to resume airline operations as soon as feasible. Before arriving at the airport, passengers should contact their airlines to inquire about flight status.
17 February 2023 John F. Kennedy Airport (@JFKairport)
Early Friday morning, a flight tracking website said that 13 arriving flights were canceled and around 30 were delayed.
On Thursday, this included a New Zealand flight that was forced to turn around eight hours into its voyage to New York City, leaving passengers stranded for 16 hours as the plane was rerouted to Auckland.
According to the airport’s website, some flights scheduled to arrive at JFK were diverted to other East Coast airports.
Friday, in response to a request for an update, the Port Authority just repeated the same statement in its most recent Tweet.
»JFK travel havoc expected—terminal remains closed after power loss«