United States: Water main breaks at JFK Airport January 7 /update 1

Event

A water main broke at New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) on Sunday, January 7, forcing a terminal evacuation and flight delays and cancelations. The water main reportedly broke shortly before 14:00 (local time), flooding Terminal 4 with roughly 7.6 cm (3 in) of water. Terminal 4 was evacuated after the incident, and international flights scheduled to arrive at Terminal 4 were suspended.

As of approximately 16:16 on Sunday, international arrivals into JFK's Terminal 4 were still suspended, but international departures were operating as scheduled, according to JFK Airport officials. There is heavy traffic into the Terminal 4 area. Additional flight disruptions are expected in the coming hours at JFK.

Context

Terminal 4 receives many of JFK's international arrivals, and is an international flight hub for Delta Airlines.

The water main break in JFK's Terminal 4 is the latest incident in a series of weather-related disruptions to affect the airport over the past several days. Winter Storm Grayson caused over 3700 flights to be canceled in the northeastern US and caused JFK, along with other major regional airports, to suspend operations when it hit the northeastern coast on January 4. Dozens of flights have been canceled and hundreds more delayed at JFK since January 5. On January 6, two planes collided at JFK at approximately 07:50, causing further delays. No passengers were injured in the accident.

Advice

Individuals flying to, from, or through JFK are advised to confirm their reservations and contact their airline for more information.