Numerous flights at LaGuardia Airport have been canceled or delayed as the New York City travel hub recovers from the tragic Air Canada crash that forced a temporary closure the previous day.
By 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday, 88 flights, equating to 16% of all scheduled departures, had been scrapped, with an additional 43 flights, or 7%, experiencing delays, as reported by the flight-tracking platform Flightaware.
Similarly, 16% of arriving flights, totaling 90, were canceled, while 104 incoming flights, or 19%, faced delays.
Meanwhile, the security line at Terminal B stretched to at least 1,000 travelers by Tuesday morning.
“An hour and 20 minutes so far! This is ridiculous!” exclaimed a passenger at the front of the queue.
The airport has also cautioned that travelers should brace for “significantly longer” wait times at security due to the ongoing partial government shutdown.
After going more than a month without a full paycheck, some TSA workers have been calling out sick or resigning in droves — and Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) agents have been deployed to airports across the country to fill their shoes.
LaGuardia said it can’t tell flyers exactly how long wait times are.
“Due to the federal funding lapse, security wait times may be significantly longer than normal. Wait times are subject to rapid change based on passenger volumes and TSA staffing,” the airport website states.
“For these reasons, wait time reporting has been temporarily suspended. Please allow for significantly more time and check with your airline for the current status of your flight.”
An Air Canada pilot and co-pilot were killed after the regional jet touched down and immediately crashed into a firetruck that had been given clearance to cross the runway around 11:40 p.m. Sunday.
Some 40 people were hospitalized with various injuries, including two Port Authority first responders in the firetruck.
LaGuardia Airport was closed until 2 p.m. Monday.
The cause of the crash will be determined by the National Transit Safety Board. But investigators were delayed from getting to the crash site — ironically — because they were stuck in long TSA lines, NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said.
