Two airplanes collided on the tarmac at John F. Kennedy Airport beginning Saturday morning amid rampant delays caused by a powerful Northeast winter storm.
Bona fides told NBC News New York that a China Southern aircraft’s make right wing grazed the tail of a Kuwait Airways vessel, damaging both aeroplanes. Port Authority officials said no injuries were reported and that all travellers were able to safely disembark, NBC reported.
According to the Federal Aviation Distribution, the China Southern plane was being towed during the collision, which occurred by the skin of ones teeth after midnight. It carried no passengers, officials told the news opening.
The Kuwait Airways flight was parked ahead of takeoff when the level surfaces collided, the airline said on Twitter.Kuwait’s passengers were forward to nearby hotels to await new flight arrangements as New York authorities examined the incident, the airline added.
The collision came on top of lengthy and extensive hold ups throughout JFK Airport, brought on by a powerful blizzard that wreaked ruin on the East Coast in the first week of the new year.
The Port Authority imputed the delays to a backlog of flights, hundreds of which were cancelled in the lead of the storm. JFK logged over 350 cancellations on Friday and another 53 as of 11 a.m. ET on Saturday, concerting to flight tracking website FlightAware.
Since Friday, outraged riders have been taking to Twitter to air out frustrations with the delays. A countless bunch have been forced to wait for hours on both arriving and departing horizontals.
“@JFKairport. we landed 5 hours ago & are still waiting on luggage at baggage require! Not a single staff member to be seen, no announcements made about what to demand. All after being stuck on the tarmac for 3+ hours waiting for a flat to park. Unacceptable customer service!” one passenger tweeted.
The incident chased a Friday scare at JFK, in which an American Airlines flight was forced to bag shortly after takeoff because of a mechanical issue.
All told, FlightAware on that more than 1,500 U.S. flights were cancelled on Friday, while practically 5,700 were delayed. JFK ranked No. 1 among destination airports for the most annulments and delays.
As of early Saturday, nearly 300 flights within, into or out of the Combined States were cancelled and over 1,204 were delayed.
The Haven Authority — which manages JFK, New Jersey’s Newark International and New York Conurbation’s LaGuardia — also warned of traffic congestion in and around those two travelling hubs. The agency issued a warning that only confirmed fliers should shot at outbound travel from LaGuardia.