Power outage cancels, diverts flights at Kennedy Airport

Feb 16, 2023, 3:57 PM | Updated: Feb 17, 2023, 3:10 pm
A man checks his phone in a mostly empty Terminal 1 at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New...

A man checks his phone in a mostly empty Terminal 1 at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, Friday, Feb. 17, 2023. A power outage in the terminal has stretched into a second day. The outage has stranded passengers and forced flights to be canceled or diverted to other airports. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

(AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

NEW YORK (AP) — A power outage in a terminal of New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport stretched into a second day Friday after forcing some flights to be canceled or diverted, including one that was turned around and sent back to New Zealand after nearly making it to the U.S.

The airport’s operator said Terminal 1, which handles some of the airport’s international flights, would remain closed Friday “due to electrical issues,” but that limited operations could resume Saturday.

The outage was caused by an electrical panel failure that led to a small fire, authorities said.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which runs New York’s major airports, said it was working to accommodate affected flights at JFK’s four other active terminals.

The agency said 39 of the 64 flights scheduled to arrive or depart from Terminal 1 on Friday were canceled, 13 were operating from other terminals and 12 were being routed through other airports.

“The Port Authority continues to work with Terminal 1’s operator to complete repairs, restore power and resume flight operations at the terminal as soon as possible,” agency spokesperson Alana Calmi said.

Yahayra Hunt and her husband were sent to a hotel near the airport after their flight to Rome was canceled Thursday. They’re part of a group of 16 people who booked an 11-day tour to Italy and Israel.

Hunt, 46, said they were told Friday that their flight to Italy wouldn’t leave until Monday and that the airline refused to cover the cost of their weekend stay in New York.

“Being stuck in a hotel during your vacation is not fair at all,” said Hunt, who owns a beauty salon in North Carolina.

Some planes were forced to return to their points of origin.

Kelly Shea, who owns a travel agency in Indianapolis, said she heard from clients Thursday who spent eight hours on a flight from Milan … to Milan.

The clients, a couple who had gone to the Venice Carnival, were flying home to Indiana through New York when the plane turned around. When they returned to the Milan airport, the couple told Shea that the ticket counter was “chaos,” with people screaming.

“And of course, by the time they got up to the counter, there were no more seats left on the next flight,” Shea said. “So I immediately tried to put them on the flight the next day, but my computer system already showed big zeros.”

Shea said the best she could do was book a return flight for them on Sunday, three days after they were supposed to be back in Indiana.

An Air New Zealand flight was two-thirds of the way across the Pacific Ocean when it had to make a U-turn and head back to Auckland. The flight landed back in New Zealand after more than 16 hours in the air.

Air New Zealand officials said the flight turned back because diverting it to another U.S. airport could have stranded it where it couldn’t make planned connections with other scheduled passengers. Passengers on the diverted jet were booked on other flights.

“Our teams have been working through that rebooking process and were on hand to help customers with their travel arrangements when they arrived in Auckland,” the airline’s chief operational integrity and safety officer, David Morgan, said.

Passenger Rosemary Armao, 73, an adjunct journalism professor, said she was awakened by a tap from her friend, who told her the plane was headed back to Auckland.

“I thought it was a bad Ambien dream,” Armao said by phone.

After an eight-hour wait back in New Zealand, Armao and her friend, retired music professor David Kechley, were put on a flight to Los Angeles, where they hoped to connect to a flight to New York.

While stuck in Los Angeles, Armao said she used a $100 voucher from the airline to make her airport stay a little nicer: ordering an expensive dinner and buying out the supply of Cheez Doodles, M&Ms, and Pringles at two shops.

Alexis Weisman and Ryan Lindgren, both 28, were scheduled to fly out of JFK on Friday for a once-in-a-lifetime ski trip in the Swiss Alps.

They learned at noon Thursday that the flight was canceled. They found a flight out on Saturday, but only after Weisman and Lindgren — and Weisman’s mother — spent eight hours making phone calls.

“All day yesterday, in the middle of the workday, we were getting hung up on or disconnected,” Weisman said.

Weisman and Lindgren are now flying on a different carrier but the booking is still through the original airline, which caused even more headaches. They’re also flying out of Newark, which is at least a 40-minute longer drive from their home.

“No one is being held accountable,” Weisman said. “We’re just really disappointed in the way that they’re handling things.”

Terminal 1 at Kennedy opened in the late 1990s. It is scheduled to be replaced by a new, $9.5 billion terminal now under construction. Groundbreaking was initially supposed to happen in 2020 but was delayed until last summer by the COVID-19 pandemic.

___

Finley reported from Norfolk, Virginia.

____ This story has been corrected to show that the Port Authority said it was working to accommodate flights at other terminals, not other airports.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

AP

File - People shop at an Apple store in the Westfield Garden State Plaza mall in Paramus, New Jerse...
Associated Press

A key inflation gauge tracked by the Fed slowed in February

The Federal Reserve's favored inflation gauge slowed sharply last month, an encouraging sign in the Fed's yearlong effort to cool price pressures through steadily higher interest rates.
2 days ago
FILE - The OpenAI logo is seen on a mobile phone in front of a computer screen displaying output fr...
Associated Press

Musk, scientists call for halt to AI race sparked by ChatGPT

Are tech companies moving too fast in rolling out powerful artificial intelligence technology that could one day outsmart humans?
3 days ago
starbucks...
Associated Press

Starbucks leader grilled by Senate over anti-union actions

Longtime Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz faced sharp questioning Wednesday before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee
4 days ago
FILE - The overdose-reversal drug Narcan is displayed during training for employees of the Public H...
Associated Press

FDA approves over-the-counter Narcan; here’s what it means

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday approved selling naloxone without a prescription, the first over-the-counter opioid treatment.
4 days ago
FILE - A Seattle police officer walks past tents used by people experiencing homelessness, March 11...
Associated Press

Seattle, feds seek to end most oversight of city’s police

  SEATTLE (AP) — The U.S. Justice Department and Seattle officials asked a judge Tuesday to end most federal oversight of the city’s police department, saying its sustained, decade-long reform efforts are a model for other cities whose law enforcement agencies face federal civil rights investigations. Seattle has overhauled virtually all aspects of its police […]
5 days ago
capital gains tax budgets...
Associated Press

Washington moves to end child sex abuse lawsuit time limits

People who were sexually abused as children in Washington state may soon be able to bring lawsuits against the state, schools or other institutions for failing to stop the abuse, no matter when it happened.
5 days ago

Sponsored Articles

Compassion International...

Brock Huard and Friends Rally Around The Fight for First Campaign

Professional athletes are teaming up to prevent infant mortality and empower women at risk in communities facing severe poverty.
Emergency Preparedness...

Prepare for the next disaster at the Emergency Preparedness Conference

Being prepared before the next emergency arrives is key to preserving businesses and organizations of many kinds.
SHIBA volunteer...

Volunteer to help people understand their Medicare options!

If you’re retired or getting ready to retire and looking for new ways to stay active, becoming a SHIBA volunteer could be for you!
safety from crime...

As crime increases, our safety measures must too

It's easy to be accused of fearmongering regarding crime, but Seattle residents might have good reason to be concerned for their safety.
Comcast Ready for Business Fund...
Ilona Lohrey | President and CEO, GSBA

GSBA is closing the disparity gap with Ready for Business Fund

GSBA, Comcast, and other partners are working to address disparities in access to financial resources with the Ready for Business fund.
SHIBA WA...

Medicare open enrollment is here and SHIBA can help!

The SHIBA program – part of the Office of the Insurance Commissioner – is ready to help with your Medicare open enrollment decisions.
Power outage cancels, diverts flights at Kennedy Airport