Officials Tuesday morning continued to assess the situation at shuttered LaGuardia, John F. Kennedy and Newark Liberty airports, according to a Port Authority of New York & New Jersey spokesman. Officials blamed Hurricane Sandy-related flooding for the Monday night closures.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo during a televised press conference said "we believe" JFK would reopen on Wednesday, but "we'll have more information soon." However, he expected LaGuardia likely would remain closed Wednesday "due to extensive damage. Port Authority executive director Pat Foye said among the work underway is an "assessment of damage to navigational aids" used by air traffic controllers at all three metropolitan airports.
Other airports in the region, including Atlantic City, Groton-New London, New Haven and Teterboro also were closed, according to a Tuesday alert from flight-tracking service FlightStats.
"Stewart International Airport is open," according to Port Authority. "However, air carriers have suspended operations until further notice. Passengers are urged to confirm with their individual carriers that their flights are operating before traveling to the airports."
FlightStats announced Tuesday that weather related to Hurricane Sandy since Saturday has prompted 15,508 flight cancellations across North America, hitting the Eastern seaboard particularly hard. FlightStats reported that 5,751 flights have been cancelled on Tuesday, but only 160 flights have been cancelled for Wednesday, though that number almost certainly will grow, according to FlightStats. In addition to the closure of New York-area airports, cancellations on Tuesday also have roiled Boston Logan International Airport (574 cancellations), Philadelphia International Airport (1,020 cancellations) and Washington's Ronald Reagan National Airport (682 cancellations) and Dulles International Airport (571 cancellations), according to FlightStats.