As New York City emerges from the clutches of a severe snowstorm, travelers are slowly seeing a return to mobility, particularly through the gates of LaGuardia Airport which, according to CBS News New York, had shuttered operations yesterday after 1 p.m. due to inclement weather, resuming at 9 p.m. but with the caveat that flights were not expected to resume until the next morning as per information provided by the Federal Aviation Administration.
The intense weather conditions led to widespread cancellations, with over 90% of LaGuardia’s flights being canceled when the storm was at its peak and more than 2,800 flights being called off across all three major airports in the city, including JFK International and Newark Liberty International FlightAware reported a staggering number of over 11,000 flights being canceled yesterday nationwide a figure that has not been seen since the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic and this number more than doubled the cancellations from the previous day.
PIX11 News reports that all major airport hubs in the tri-state area have reopened today after contending with a blanket of 8 to 11 inches of snow, a feat that restored the bustle to the transportation channels that had been temporarily subdued by nature's wrath.
Nevertheless, passengers were still tasting the bitterness of delays as JFK continued with ground delays of about four hours and both JFK and Newark were dealing with suspended AirTrain service which indicates the snarled nature of logistical repairs these hubs and their carriers are executing as reported by FlightAware there were still 759 canceled flights and 100 delays as of 10 a.m., urging travelers to verify with their airlines for the most current updates before proceeding to the airport.
While the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) kept a beacon of connectivity alight amidst the storm, promising to maintain train, subway, and bus operations on a weekend schedule, alternative transportation modes such as NJ Transit and NYC Ferry were not as fortunate, having to halt services until further updates are to be given.
