Two planes collided at JFK Airport in New York early Saturday amid chaotic scenes brought on by the recent shutdown of the airport due to a massive snowstorm.
Several planes trying to land at JFK were left stranded for up to seven hours with some forced to turn around due to major capacity issues. The collision occurred when a China Southern plane struck the tail end of a Kuwait Airways aircraft at terminal four, according to the Port Authority.
Both airplanes were damaged as a result but no one was injured in the incident.
Kuwait Airways confirmed the accident on their Twitter account, adding that all passengers had been taken to hotels while alternative flights were arranged.The airline added that they were working with authorities at the New York airport to investigate the incident.
تود الخطوط الجوية الكويتية التنويه بأن إحدى طائراتها من نوع B777 المخصصة لرحلة رقم ١١٨ (نيويورك-كويت) وأثناء وقوفها في المكان المخصص لها في مطار نيويورك قد تعرضت لحادث احتكاك من قبل طائرة تابعة لشركة طيران صينية مما تسبب بعدم إمكانية تشغيلها للرحلة المذكورة، وقد تم التعامل مع -١
— Kuwait Airways (@KuwaitAirways) January 6, 2018
Meanwhile long delays have been reported at the airport with planes apparently forced to wait on the tarmac for several hours for a gate. FlightRadar 24 posted a screenshot Friday night of ground traffic at the airport showing what appear to be several dozen planes waiting.
Delays are still ongoing at the airport and, according to flight trackers, several flights headed for New York turned around Saturday morning due to the capacity issues on the ground.
Because of the ongoing capacity problem at JFK airport, 3 flights have turned around, but there are still 105 aircraft airborne en route to JFK airport. pic.twitter.com/JQNsN0Y9Z6
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) January 6, 2018
Passengers have been venting their frustrations online, adding that they are also experiencing long waits for baggage reclaims with some travellers reporting missing luggage.
@JFKairport. we landed 5 hours ago & are still waiting on luggage at baggage claim! Not a single staff member to be seen, no announcements made about what to expect. All after being stuck on the tarmac for 3+ hours waiting for a place to park. Unacceptable customer service! pic.twitter.com/9qwtHFSoO8
— Victoria Duffin (@victoriaeis) January 6, 2018
We’ve been on the plane itself for over 8 hours from Montreal (1 hour away). People are beginning to threaten to break open emergency exits and staff is still saying “30 more minutes” they’ve been saying this for hours. Something is up.
— Chris Mendez (@thechrismendez) January 6, 2018
Free at last! After a 14-hour flight from Beijing, and another 7-hours stranded on the @JFKairport TarMac, passengers aboard @airchina Flight #CA989 are deplaning. The next concern is lengthy customs lines. Our flight was just one of many that landed, but without a gate assigned pic.twitter.com/hzO1iUSPx0
— missmonet (@jennimonet) January 6, 2018
Complete chaos yesterday at #jfkairport due to #BombCyclone when @Qantas decides to not cancel QF12 flight instead making everyone travel to JFK through the storm, then providing no compensation or substantial info when flight finally cancelled. Everyone stranded & very confused.
— Lauren Booker (@Laureneiko) January 5, 2018
Flights resumed at 7am Friday after Thursday’s suspension of operations due to the ‘bomb cyclone’ which blasted the US east coast with freezing weather. The Port Authority said the backlog of flights will cause delays at the airport into the weekend, reported NBC.
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