A power outage is disrupting operations at Terminal 1 of New York City’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), one of the world’s busiest international passenger airports.
The situation is the result of an electrical panel failure that caused a small fire yesterday. Although it was quickly extinguished, it caused a widespread power outage, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) said in a statement.
According to airport management, the power outage «is impacting the terminal’s ability to accept inbound and outbound flights». They said they will work to «accommodate impacted flights using other terminals» and asked users to check the status of their flights before leaving for the airport.
JFK Terminal 1 will remain closed on 2/17 due to electrical issues as the Port Authority continues working with the terminal’s operator to restore flight operations as quickly as possible. Travelers should check with their carriers for flight status before coming to the airport.
— John F. Kennedy Airport (@JFKairport) February 17, 2023
Terminal 1 will remain closed today, Friday 17 February. In the meantime, the Port Authority will work around the affected circuits to re-establish supply as soon as possible. According to agency sources quoted by CNN, in the event that the repair work takes longer than expected, a generator could be used to alleviate the situation.
Diversions and cancellations
Air traffic control diverted some inbound international flights to other nearby airports, including New Jersey’s Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), Boston-Logan International Airport (BOS) and Washington-Dulles International Airport (IAD).
Air New Zealand flight NZ 2, which was flying between Auckland (AKL) and New York (JFK), had to return to its departure airport near the halfway point over the Pacific Ocean. The aircraft, a Boeing 787-9 with registration ZK-NZQ, landed back in New Zealand almost 16 hours after take-off.
A similar situation was recorded on other intercontinental flights from the Asia-Pacific region, whose crews opted to return in order to avoid further delays and rescheduling.
International carriers such as Air China, Air France, Air New Zealand, Air Senegal, Air Serbia, Asiana Airlines, Austrian Airlines, Azerbaijan Airlines, Azores Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Cayman Airways, China Eastern, EgyptAir, EVA Air, Flair, ITA Airways, Japan Airlines, Korean Air, Lufthansa, Neos, Norse Atlantic, Philippine Airlines, Royal Air Maroc, Saudi Arabian, SWISS, Swoop, TAP Portugal, Turkish Airlines, Viva Aerobus and Volaris operates at Terminal 1.
The closure comes just before the start of a long weekend: 20 February is Presidents’ Day, a federal holiday, so air passenger numbers on domestic flights are expected to increase from today.
See also: Lufthansa reports widespread flight cancellations and delays due to an IT system failure
