NEW YORK — If you think the JFK airport nightmares are over, just wait.
First a “bomb cyclone” stranded some travelers for days. Then “a serious breakdown” in communications forced passengers to sit on tarmacs for hours.
Now the New York airport is scrambling to clean up Monday after a water main burst, sending customers fleeing into the 13-degree cold Sunday. And officials say flight delays could stretch for days.
“What happened at JFK airport is unacceptable, and travelers expect and deserve better,” Port Authority Executive Director Rick Cotton said.
The water main disaster happened Sunday afternoon in Terminal 4 — “the major gateway for international arrivals at JFK airport,” the airport’s website says.
On Monday morning, much of the flooding had receded. But hundreds of passengers’ suitcases were soaked — including long-delayed luggage from last week’s weather calamity.
Reygie Papasin, 32, arrived at JFK from the Philippines and was scheduled to fly to Miami on Monday.
“I just hope I can get my luggage,” Papasin said. This is his first time in the United States.
While Terminal 4 was fully open Monday, one entrance was blocked as a massive industrial-size fan tried to dry up the damage.
Pipe was not weather-protected
Moments after the pipe burst, sheets of water cascaded from the ceiling onto passenger waiting areas.
The Port Authority, which oversees airports in New York and New Jersey, said Terminal 4 is privately operated. The authority said it will “hold those responsible accountable for any shortcomings we find.”
“While the water pipe break that occurred appears to be weather-related, we have launched an investigation into the incident to determine exactly what occurred and why an internal pipe was not weather-protected.”
The Port Authority said delays could last for days. As of Monday morning, about 37 flights to and from JFK were canceled for the day, according to FlightAware.com, a flight tracking website.
At least 109 flights to and from JFK were delayed Monday.
‘A serious breakdown’
The severe weather forced JFK to close Thursday as a wicked nor’easter tore through the region.
The airport reopened Friday, and operations went smoothly that day, Cotton said.
But on Saturday, “a serious breakdown” occurred because the terminal operators and the airlines didn’t coordinate to ensure enough gates were available for incoming and outgoing aircraft.
“The airlines and terminal operators could not move aircraft out to the gates at the normal rate they predicted,” Cotton said. Passengers reported sitting on the tarmac for hours before they could deplane or the planes took off.
And the frigid weather caused equipment failures on the ground and in the aircraft, he said.
Baggage claim areas became backed up, planes were filled to capacity because of earlier delays and employees didn’t show up for work because of the weather, he said.
Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York said JFK officials should have foreseen some of the problems.
“Look, when it’s as cold as it was we’ll cut the airport a little slack,” he said.
“But what happened at JFK was way beyond cutting a little slack. It seemed almost everything broke down, it seemed like a disaster. Whether it’s the runways not being plowed, whether it’s the baggage machines that transport the baggage freezing, whether it’s not notifying people what’s going on. … They should’ve been much, much better prepared — plain and simple.”
Travelers had complained about delays and baggage problems even before the water leak occurred Sunday.
Emillio Mesa traveled from Los Angeles to New York City and said he hadn’t seen his baggage for 13 hours.
“The luggage pile just keeps growing,” he posted on Instagram. “It’s a fire hazard now. New flights are coming in, and there’s no space!”
