By David Shepardson
May 20 (Reuters) – A sinkhole on Wednesday forced the closure of one of the runways at New York’s LaGuardia airport, prompting cancellations and delays and ongoing emergency repairs.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which manages New York City area airports, said at 11 a.m. officials were conducting a daily morning inspection of LaGuardia’s airfield when crews identified a sinkhole.
The authority warned “travelers should expect delays and cancellations, particularly with forecast thunderstorms expected later today.”
The Federal Aviation Administration said it was slowing flights into LaGuardia Airport, due to weather and the sinkhole.
About 200 flights, or 17% of departing and arriving flights were cancelled at LaGuardia and 190 delayed, according to FlightAware, a flight tracking site. Delta Air Lines is the largest carrier at LaGuardia, accounting for about 40% of flights.
(Reporting by David Ljunggren and David Shepardson; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Aurora Ellis)
