More airport chaos! An electrical fire shuts down the JFK terminal, forcing international flights from Europe, China and New Zealand to be diverted – including an Air New Zealand plane turning SEVEN HOURS into the journey
- Terminal 1 remains closed today after an electrical panel failure sparked a fire
- It caused a power outage that sent dozens of flights into chaos
- An Air New Zealand flight had to turn back after seven hours
JFK Airport is still in chaos today after an electrical fire caused a power outage yesterday and canceled flights from Europe and New Zealand.
Terminal 1, which serves airlines including Air China, Air France, Alitalia, Lufthansa, Royal Air Maroc and Saudi Arabian Airlines, remains closed today due to the fire.
A Port Authority spokesman said the fire was the result of a “fault in the electrical panel”.
As a result, more chaos is expected today as flights are diverted to other airports and cities.
An Air New Zealand flight from Auckland was forced to turn back after seven hours in the air yesterday. When it landed back where it took off, the passengers had been on board for 16 hours.
As of 9 a.m. Friday, 31 JFK flights had been canceled and dozens more were delayed.
JFK’s Terminal 1 will remain closed today following yesterday’s electrical fire
Passengers wait for news at JFK Terminal 2 on Friday morning
Flights at Terminal 1 were canceled on Friday morning after a power outage caused by an electrical fire. Others have been relocated to other terminals or airports
The FAA said the terminal will remain closed until at least 2 p.m. Friday.
The airport outage is the latest in a long list of U.S. travel problems over the past six months.
In January, the FAA’s systems collapsed, grounding all American flights, resulting in one of the worst fumbles in aviation in recent history.
The cause of the outage, according to many involved, was due to the FAA not updating its outdated systems.
Before that was Southwest Airlines’ holiday nightmare, when thousands of passengers lost their luggage and were stranded in airports across the US as the budget carrier couldn’t keep up with demand.
This crisis sparked an investigation into whether operations should be allowed to continue.
Flight NZ2 left Auckland around 8pm on Thursday evening before the fire at JFK.
Seven hours into the flight, the pilots were notified of the failure and announced they would be turning back.
Air Zealand flight NZ2 had to turn back seven hours after its flight on Thursday evening. It landed back in Auckland 16 hours after takeoff
An Air New Zealand plane was forced to turn back after seven hours in the air. When it landed back in Auckland, it had been in the air for 16 hours
The flight landed back in Auckland at 1pm local time on Friday afternoon.
The airline decided to return to New Zealand rather than land at another US airport because it “would have meant the plane would be grounded for several days, which would have impacted a number of other scheduled services and customers”.
New Zealand Air added: “We apologize for the inconvenience and thank our customers for their patience and understanding.”
According to Flightaware.com, around 130 flights have been canceled since Thursday
“Travelers should check with their airlines for flight status before arriving at the airport,” JFK said.
The Port Authority is continuing to work with the terminal operator to restore flight operations as soon as possible, she added.