Spring Travel Chaos
Travel headaches this week: Newark Liberty logged 91 delays and 12 cancellations in the past 24 hours, affecting United, American, Delta, Spirit and others. Delta issued travel alerts and waived rebooking fees at NYC airports through March 26 — and New Zealand is forecasting up to 320mm of rain starting March 25 that could disrupt international flights. ( ).
An air-traffic control tower at Newark Liberty was evacuated about 7:30 a.m. on March 23 after staff reported a burning smell in an elevator, and the FAA issued a ground stop on arrivals and departures. (apnews.com) The FAA said there was no active fire and controllers operated from a backup facility while technicians investigated, but the interruption stretched airport recovery into the late morning. (roi-nj.com) FlightAware data cited by local reporting showed 152 total delays and eight cancellations at Newark as of 11:06 a.m. on March 23, with United and Spirit among the carriers reporting the largest shares of delayed or canceled sectors that morning. (roi-nj.com) Delta published targeted travel alerts and flexible rebooking for passengers affected at multiple New York airports between March 23–26 as the carrier adjusted operations around the LaGuardia closure, and Delta’s advisories page lists the LaGuardia disruption among current airport notices. (thetravel.com, delta.com) American Airlines likewise posted a travel-alert waiver tied to the LaGuardia closure that waives change fees for tickets bought by March 22 for travel on March 23–24, with rebooked travel allowed through March 26 under specified conditions. (aa.com) Local reporting and Port Authority commentary linked part of the regional congestion to high Transportation Security Administration absences amid the partial government shutdown, with some airports reporting more than a third of TSA officers absent and airlines expanding waiver policies as a result. (roi-nj.com, cbsnews.com) In New Zealand, MetService escalated warnings for eastern Northland to a Red Heavy Rain Warning beginning about 4pm on Wednesday, forecasting 270–320 mm of rain in places over roughly 48 hours and peak hourly downpours of 20–40 mm plus damaging gusts to about 120 km/h. (metservice.com, fndc.govt.nz) Regional councils and civil-defence agencies warned the heaviest rain would likely peak Thursday night into Friday and listed rapid-rising rivers, slips and road closures among the principal hazards, while national outlets reported airlines and operators preparing for flight and ferry disruption. (fndc.govt.nz, stuff.co.nz) Air New Zealand’s travel-alert page urged customers to monitor airlines’ real-time updates as severe-weather plans were activated, and regional reporting said the storm had already grounded some domestic services and cut power to tens of thousands of properties. (airnewzealand.co.nz, trtworld.com)
