Heavy winds and foul weather caused massive delays at New York airports — with flights running an average of 2 ½ hours behind at JFK International Airport on Sunday morning, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
The wintry conditions hit JFK the hardest — with the longest delays up to 4 hours, but delays were running more than an hour at LaGuardia Airport, the FAA said.
Flights leaving Newark International Airport were on a 2-hour, 20-minute delay, the federal agency said.
The delays come as much of the US is facing another round of bitter winter weather, with heavy rains causing flooding in Kentucky – with at least two people killed — along with tornado watches in parts of Georgia and Florida and potentially deadly freezing temperatures in the Northern Plans, the National Weather Service said.
American Airlines airplanes at John F. Kennedy International Airport. Bloomberg via Getty Images
Travelers seen at JFK Airport. Bloomberg via Getty Images
And it’s not just the Big Apple — air travelers have been grounded by the weather at some of the nation’s busiest airports, according to the flight-tracking service FlightAware.
By midday Sunday, more than 4,500 flights leaving or arriving in the US were delayed, while 813 of those had been canceled, FlightAware said.
Among the hardest hit US airports were Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, with 138 delays and eight cancellations already, and Chicago O’Hare International Airport, with 143 delays and nine canceled flights.
Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina reported 90 delays and 32 flights already canceled, while Boston Logan International Airport has seen 82 flights delayed and 19 canceled.
