Chaos at JFK stops dozens of flights, terminal closed after power outage

Besieged passengers faced new chaos at New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport on Friday, with dozens of flights canceled as the terminal closed a second day after a power outage caused a fire.

“Terminal 1 JFK will remain closed [Friday] due to power issues as the Port Authority continues to work with the terminal operator to restore flights as quickly as possible. major tourist center tweeted just after 11pm on Thursday.

“Travelers should check with their carriers for flight status before arriving at the airport.”

More than 60% of the 64 flights scheduled to enter and exit the terminal on Friday were cancelled, making up all 39 cancellations at JFK that day.

Many were international flights, including a flight from New Zealand that was forced to turn around for about eight hours en route to the Big Apple on Thursday, leaving passengers stranded on board the plane for 16 hours as it was sent back to Auckland. .

Of the 64 scheduled flights on Friday from the terminal – 5% of total traffic – 13 managed to be diverted to four other JFK terminals and 12 to other airports, according to the Port Authority.

However, the fight created chaos throughout the airport, with 188 flights delayed during the day, according to Flight Aware.

Some passengers only became aware of this when flyers were handed out at the terminal, where a glitch meant the electronic displays were empty.

The outage was caused by an electrical panel failure caused by a fire on Thursday night, the airline explained in one report, saying the fire was “immediately extinguished.”

A source told The Post that the flames had spread in an area where there were paint cans and rags, and the delay was so long because a new transformer was being brought in from Georgia.

But the ongoing shutdown is likely to cost the aviation industry millions of dollars, the source said.

The sudden end of the journey from the terminal left passengers scrambling, although some were reportedly bus-bused to Newark while others were diverted to Terminal 4 at JFK Airport.

Nobody was happy.

“We are officially a 3rd world country,” said one social media critic. wrote. JFK Terminal 1 in New York, a terminal that handles almost all international carriers and flights, is closed due to ‘electrical problems’.

But everyone resigned.

“You just have to take the hits. It’s an unfortunate situation, but we’re doing our best and the airline is trying to help us by flying us to Newark,” Don Corrao told CBS2.

A couple of Takaho High School students struggled to cope with the situation.

“It feels like a movie, it’s not real. I’m still waiting for them to say “It’s a joke!” student Isabella Bivas told the news release.

But her high school companion, Jackson Snyder. grumbled, “To be honest, it’s just awful that the whole terminal is closed.”

Then there was Jamil Rahman, who made a pilgrimage to Mecca.

“The airline knows nothing. We don’t know anything,” he told the news agency. “This is the busiest city in the world, how come they don’t have a backup plan for that?”

A port authority spokesman told The Post on Friday afternoon that he hoped to begin “limited operations at Terminal 1 on Saturday” but that “depends on the completion of repairs and testing.”

“Travelers should continue to check flight status with their carriers before arriving at Terminal 1,” the spokesperson warned.

The Federal Aviation Administration declined to comment on the disruptions in air traffic, redirecting all requests to the port authority.