USA: Flights slowly resume at New York's John F. Kennedy airport after superstorm Sandy

Record ID: 804118

  • Title: USA: Flights slowly resume at New York's John F. Kennedy airport after superstorm Sandy
  • Date: 31st October 2012
  • Summary: NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (OCTOBER 31, 2012) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF FLIGHT INFORMATION BOARD AT JOHN F. KENNEDY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT TERMINAL VARIOUS OF PEOPLE IN LINE TO CHECK IN VARIOUS OF AIRLINE WORKER AT COUNTER VARIOUS OF WOMAN AT COUNTER TRAVELERS JUSSI LAIKARI AND LOTTA MATTILA BUYING DRINKS (SOUNDBITE) (English) JUSSI LAIKARI, TRAVELER FROM FINLAND, SAYING: "Our first flight on Monday got cancelled. So the same flight at 6.45 PM that we were supposed to fly (yesterday) straight to Helsinki got cancelled because of the storm Sandy and now we got a next flight today." (SOUNDBITE) (English) LOTTA MATTILA, TRAVELER FROM FINLAND, SAYING: "Really happy, we're so excited." MORE OF LAIKARI AND MATTILA BUYING DRINKS (SOUNDBITE) (English) JAN OLA JOHNSON, TRAVELER FROM SWEDEN, SAYING: "Well it's quite okay. We're happy about it. We're going back to Sweden over Finland and Denmark, and back to Sweden, but that's okay." VARIOUS OF JANE WISCHUSEN, TRAVELER FROM AUSTRALIA SITTING ON FLOOR (SOUNDBITE) (English) JANE WISCHUSEN, TRAVELER FROM AUSTRALIA SAYING: "Today we went to what is the only reported American Airlines office in Manhattan, and we queued there from quarter to eight and no one turned up. Hundreds of other people turned up but no officials. So we tried to get on the net, but it couldn't be changed online, so we came out here because it was the only humans we could deal with. Now we got a flight on Friday, and we still have nowhere to stay." TRAVELERS SITTING ON FLOOR (SOUNDBITE) (English) AARON DAVIS-KIRYA-ATABALA, TRAVELER FROM NORWAY, SAYING: "I think we're planning to go back to town, but we're not sure yet. Because most of the hotels are fully booked and we were supposed to go to Miami today so" VARIOUS OF PASSENGERS SITTING ON FLOOR WIDE VIEW OF TERMINAL TAXI EXTERIOR OF TERMINAL
  • Embargoed: 15th November 2012 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Usa
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Disasters,Travel / Tourism,Transport
  • Reuters ID: LVABR872ZXRAMIP72XKMMU6NUH2Z
  • Story Text: New York's John F. Kennedy International airport resumed limited service on Wednesday (October 31).
    Newark Liberty International airport also reopened for partial service, while LaGuardia airport remains closed, the Port Authority said on its website.
    Between them, the three airports handle 300,000 passengers a day and were shut down due to Sandy, the massive storm that swept through the area on Monday (October 29).
    According to flight tracking service Flightaware.com, more than 19,500 flights have been canceled so far since Sunday.
    Some passengers were lucky enough to get on the first flights leaving from New York.
    Among them was Jussi Laikari and Lotta Matilla, who were scheduled to fly out to Finland on Monday evening.
    "Our first flight on Monday got canceled. So the same flight at 6.45 PM that we were supposed to fly (yesterday) straight to Helsinki got canceled because of the storm Sandy and now we got a next flight today," Laikari told Reuters.
    The student couple was staying at New York's West Village that experienced a power outage following the storm.
    When asked how she felt about leaving New York Matilla said: "Really happy, we're so excited."
    Jan Ola Johnson and his wife were among the few also boarding a flight on Wednesday.
    He is returning to Sweden, albeit with some detours.
    "Well it's quite okay. We're happy about it. We're going back to Sweden over Finland and Denmark, and back to Sweden, but that's okay," he said.
    Most passengers were not as lucky, and are stranded in the city for days.
    Jane Wischusen, on vacation from Melbourne, Australia stayed at a hotel that blacked out during the storm. With no phone or internet she was forced to come down to the airport for a flight change.
    "Today we went to what is the only reported American Airlines office in Manhattan, and we queued there from quarter to eight and no one turned up," she explained.
    "Hundreds of other people turned up but no officials. So we tried to get on the (inter)net, but it couldn't be changed online, so we came out here because it was the only humans we could deal with. Now we got a flight on Friday, and we still have nowhere to stay."
    Even with JFK and Newark resuming limited services, travel itineraries will likely be tangled throughout the week as airlines get staff, planes and passengers into position.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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