Travelers flying into and out of LaGuardia, JFK and Newark airports Friday evening faced grueling delays as dozens of flights were canceled amid thunderstorms.
Virtually all flights out of the three airports were either canceled or faced hours-long delays as the city’s Emergency Management Department warned of flash flooding in the city until 9 p.m.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy blamed the delays on a combination of bad weather conditions and flight controllers calling out sick.
“For any travelers flying in and out of the Northeast — please be prepared for delays and cancellations due to controllers calling out sick on top of difficult weather patterns,” Duffy posted on X. “When roughly 40-60% of controllers call out sick at multiple facilities in the New York region, we have to delay flights to maintain the safety of the airspace.”
Travelers vented their frustration on social media.
“So they cancelled my flight to NYC so we rerouted to Philly, but now that flight is delayed, and I will be stuck in the airport for eight hours,” X user coppeweb posted on Friday. “I’m genuinely like WFT did I do?”
Heavy rain and lightning started hitting the five boroughs shortly after 6 p.m. as thunderstorms moved in. The city was expected to see 1 to 1.5 inches of rain, causing flooding on highways and streets, with winds gusting at 60 mph and the possibility of penny-sized hail, officials said.
Due to high winds, the city temporarily banned empty tractor-trailers, tandem trailers, piggyback trailers, dual trailers and multiple trailers on the Marine Parkway Bridge across Rockaway Inlet on Friday night.
New Yorkers were advised to stay out of flooded basements, including basement-level apartments.
The flood warnings come as the city’s health commissioner warned New Yorkers to stay hydrated as the heat index soared to near 100 degrees amid a “tropical air mass.”
“Heat-related emergencies are the number one environmental emergency that New Yorkers face today,” Dr. Alister Martin said. “Over 500 New Yorkers every single year lose their lives to heat-related illnesses.”
