Passengers delayed for hours at New York's JFK airport
NEW YORK -- Travelers at New York City's John F. Kennedy Airport are experiencing lengthy delays after this week's winter storm. Some say they've been waiting to travel for more than 20 hours, CBS New York reports.
JFK Airport is a bit of a tale of two airports. If you are flying a domestic U.S. carrier, you are not encountering major issues. However, international terminals 1, 4 and 7 are a different story. There are more aircraft than gates and support staff, CBS News transportation correspondent Kris Van Cleave reports.
International carriers did not thin their schedules like U.S. carriers did, and now in many cases have their flights on Saturday coming in, in addition to the arrivals of delayed flights from the storm. Complicating the situation: international flights can't deplane at any gate. The Port Authority, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the international carriers likely share the blame for this issue, Van Cleave reports.
Saturday is the lightest flying day of the week.
CBS New York reports that some passengers claimed they were stranded for up to 20 hours without answers. Passengers posted videos and pictures of people standing and sitting in front of airline ticket counters demanding answers Saturday morning.
"Everyone video this, because we need answers," one woman said, directing her fellow passengers in front of a ticket terminal. Others tweeted that their flight landed "hours ago" but they were still stuck on board in the dark without food or water.
In addition to the delays, two planes clipped one another on the tarmac early Saturday morning. Police said the right wing tip of a China Southern aircraft struck the tail end of a Kuwait Airways plane, causing damage to both aircrafts.
Authorities said passengers aboard the Kuwait Airways aircraft were deplaned without incident and the China Southern 777 had no passengers on board at the time of the collision.
