JFK terminal closure could last several days amid power problems, warns FAA; International flights interrupted

The evolving travel nightmare at John F. Kennedy Airport stretched into the second day of Friday, when all inbound and outbound flights at the New York City Center International Terminal were ground to a halt—at least until the end of the day, and possibly longer.

The brawl began around mid-morning on Thursday when JFK Airport first tweeted about a “power outage” that led to some changes to the departure and arrival terminals. Four hours later, he acknowledged that the problem at Terminal 1, which serves more than a dozen international airlines and accounts for 8.5% of the airport’s total gates, is worsening.

The outage was expected to be cleared by mid-morning Friday, but shortly before midnight, JFK Airport tweeted that the terminal would be closed for the rest of the day. No word yet on when it might open.

According to the Port Authority, “the failure of the electrical panel, which also caused a small fire during the night, which was immediately extinguished”, caused a problem with the power supply. Travelers are advised to check with their carriers for details.

And as of Friday morning, the FAA website said the shutdown could last until late Saturday evening.

Passengers stranded in the terminal say they don’t know where to turn next.

“I don’t quite understand what’s going on – no one knows about the situation, at least it seems so,” said frustrated passenger Anthony Russo, who was hoping to make it to London. “I had a lot of plans, I was going to see some friends, and now I don’t know what the hell is going on.”

Terminal 1 JFK serves Aeroflot, Aero Mexico, Air China, Air France, AirPlus Comet, Alitalia, Austrian Airlines, Cayman Airways, China Airlines, China Eastern, Japan Airlines, Korean Air, Lufthansa, Olympic, Royal Air Maroc, Saudi Arabian Airlines and Turkish.

As of Thursday evening, airlines were manually recording canceled flights because the large electronic board was still not working. Flyers were handed out to passengers. One of Lufthansa began: “Unfortunately, your flight has been cancelled.”

Some travelers have said their delayed flights will not operate for several days, threatening their travel plans or forcing them to cancel entirely. This is the latest chaotic problem John F. Kennedy has faced, although two recent problems have involved air traffic control.

SWAPA, the union that represents Southwest Airlines pilots, says the way Southwest Airlines’ routes are designed is one reason the airline has had such a hard time recovering from delays and flight cancellations due to winter weather.