Flights resume at Philadelphia International Airport after FAA ground stop due to low visibility
PHILADELPHIA (CBS/CNN) - The Federal Aviation Administration temporarily grounded flights at Philadelphia International Airport Thursday morning as smoke from Canadian wildfires continues to spread across our region. The FAA cited reports of low visibility for the ground stop on Thursday.
The ground stop required planes scheduled to fly to Philadelphia to remain on the ground at their airport of origin. The ground stop was lifted before 10 a.m. but travelers are still keeping a close eye on what may come later.
The best advice for those flying Thursday is to check with whatever airline you are flying.
The ground stop impacting inbound flights to #PHLAirport has been lifted, however, passengers should check with their airlines for the latest flight information. pic.twitter.com/qMq3V37eHF
— PHLAirport (@PHLAirport) June 8, 2023
A similar ground stop was issued at LaGuardia Airport on Wednesday and Thursday.
"The FAA will likely need to take steps to manage the flow of traffic safely into New York City, DC, Philadelphia and Charlotte due to reduced visibility from wildfire smoke," said a statement from the agency.
The agency tweeted before 9 a.m. that flights from the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Ohio bound for PHL were paused due to the low visibility.
US Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg tweeted Wednesday that, "Smoke from Canada's wildfires is affecting visibility in our airspace and leading to delays. The FAA is fully prepared to modify operations as needed."
As of 8 am ET there have been 678 flights to, from and within the United States delayed, with 56 of them canceled, according to tracking service FlightAware. New York's JFK airport and Newark Liberty Airport in Newark, New Jersey, were the hardest hit by the haze. JFK had two canceled flights and 28 delays, representing 4% of its schedule. Newark had three canceled flights and 17 delays, representing 2% of its flights. LaGuardia was not listed among FlightAware's most affected airports. Wednesday ended with 5,600 US flight delays and 162 cancellations, although not all were due to the smoke.
The smoke led to air quality alerts around the northeastern U.S.
Overnight Wednesday into Thursday, the air quality index readings in Philadelphia and the Lehigh Valley were the worst in the world.