Thousands of flights in the U.S. northeast were grounded when Hurricane Sandy rolled into New York City and New Jersey. The late October storm carried into November and made havoc of travel plans. Nowhere was the situation as dire as New York’s LaGuardia Airport.
By Raymond Rolak
Passenger plans across the globe were in chaos as LGA had to be closed down from flooding. The ripple effect stranded passengers domestically and those connecting to international flights.
Major carriers that had flights from LGA had to cancel because of the unprecedented nature of the flooding. The popular business corridor between Detroit-New York LaGuardia had total cancellations. LaGuardia Airport was totally shut down.
Delta Airlines, American Eagle, and Spirit all cancelled non-stops out of Detroit. U.S. Airways, United Airlines and Air Trans Airways cancelled one-stop flights into LGA.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York and Newark International Airport in New Jersey would reopen with limited service.
Thousands of commercial flights were also cancelled in the region. Newark Airport and JFK-International cancelled flights but weren’t hit as hard as LGA. Even nearby Teterboro Airport, a ‘reliever’ airport in New York for smaller and slower aircraft was flooded out. Stewart Airport, a small commuter airport, which sits west of Newburgh, N.Y., was able to open after the storm and was fully operational.
The New York-New Jersey airspace is the nation’s busiest. At LGA, the taxi-ways and tarmac were nicknamed Lake LaGuardia by observers. Timelines for normal operation at LGA were sketchy because of safety concerns from the flooding damage. Some Amtrak train service may resume to the area but spokesman Steve Kulm said track inspections must be done.
Hotels and restaurants near DTW-Metro Airport reported brisk business because of the delays and cancellations. Travel from Detroit to the west coast did not suffer such devastating reroutes.
Photo from the Rolco Sports Network Wire
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