Sinkhole Shuts LaGuardia Runway

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey closed one of LaGuardia Airport’s two runways on Wednesday after a sinkhole was discovered on Runway 4/22 during an airfield inspection, according to local reports citing the agency. The closure cut airport capacity ahead of the Memorial Day travel weekend and contributed to delays and cancellations at the Queens airport. (pix11.com) The Federal Aviation Administration said on Thursday that LaGuardia was under a ground delay because of “runway maintenance.” FAA status pages showed arriving flights delayed by an average of 1 hour 47 minutes as of late Thursday UTC. (faa.gov) ### When was the sinkhole found, and where was it? Wednesday morning at about 11 a.m., crews found the sinkhole on Runway 4/22 during a routine inspection, according to ABC7 New York and PIX11, which cited Port Authority officials. The runway was taken out of service immediately after the discovery, those reports said. Runway 4/22 is one of LaGuardia’s two runways. Its closure reduced the airport’s operating capacity while repair crews began work on the damaged pavement, according to the same reports. (pix11.com) ### How much did the closure disrupt flights? The FAA’s airport status page for LaGuardia showed a ground delay program in effect on Thursday because of runway maintenance, with arriving traffic delayed by an average of 1 hour 47 minutes. A separate FAA airport-status page listed average delay at 1 hour 15 minutes earlier in the afternoon, reflecting changing conditions over the day. (pix11.com) ABC7 New York reported that nearly a quarter of flights were delayed or canceled after the runway was shut. The outlet said thunderstorms later added to the disruption, but it reported that the runway problem began before the storms arrived. (abc7ny.com) ### What have airport and federal officials said? The FAA did not describe the damage in its public status listings, but it identified the cause of the delay program as runway maintenance at LaGuardia. The agency’s National Airspace System dashboard listed the event as a ground delay affecting arrivals. (faa.gov) Port Authority officials, as quoted by PIX11 and ABC7, said the sinkhole was discovered during inspection work and that repairs were under way. Those outlets said the agency expected delays to continue while crews remained on the airfield. (abc7ny.com) ### Why is Runway 4/22 a focus at LaGuardia? Port Authority and FAA records show Runway 4/22 has been the subject of rehabilitation and related airfield work in recent years. FAA environmental documents and Port Authority procurement records describe rehabilitation of Runway 4/22 and nearby taxiways and structural elements at LaGuardia. (fly.faa.gov) March 2026 also put the runway in public view after an Air Canada Express crash at LaGuardia. The FAA said Flight 8646 struck an airport rescue vehicle after landing on Runway 4 in New York on March 22, and the FAA and National Transportation Safety Board opened investigations. (pix11.com) That incident was not linked to the sinkhole repairs, but local coverage noted it involved the same runway complex. ### When could the runway reopen? Thursday updates from PIX11, ABC7 and QNS said Port Authority officials were aiming to reopen Runway 4/22 on Friday, pending continued inspections and repair work. ABC7 reported that an earlier reopening remained possible depending on the results of those checks. (panynj.gov) As of the FAA’s latest public status updates on Thursday, LaGuardia was still operating under runway-related delays. Travelers were being directed by the FAA to check with their airlines for flight-specific impacts while the repair work continued. (faa.gov) (pix11.com) (faa.gov)