LaGuardia runway closed by sinkhole

A sinkhole discovered near Runway 4/22 at New York’s LaGuardia Airport on Wednesday forced the runway’s closure and added to delays and cancellations as crews worked on repairs. Port Authority officials found the hole around 11 a.m. during a daily morning inspection of the airfield, according to LaGuardia Airport and Fox Weather. No injuries were reported. Travelers were told to check directly with their airlines for flight status as operations were adjusted. ### Where was the sinkhole found, and what was shut down? Runway 4/22 was the area affected after the sinkhole was identified near that runway, LaGuardia Airport said. The airport said the area was immediately shut down so officials could determine the cause and complete repairs “as quickly and safely as possible.” Queens-based LaGuardia is operated by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which said it was in close communication with airlines and airport partners as conditions changed. (foxweather.com) Fox Weather reported the closure contributed to multiple delays and cancellations on May 20. ### How much of the disruption was tied to the sinkhole, and how much was weather? The Federal Aviation Administration’s airport status page for LaGuardia showed traffic management programs in effect early on May 21 because of weather and thunderstorms, with arriving flights delayed by an average of 2 hours and 44 minutes at one point. (foxweather.com) The FAA page said the airport conditions listed there were general and not flight-specific. An FAA operations advisory issued on May 20 also showed a ground stop and later a ground delay program for LaGuardia as thunderstorms affected the Northeast. That means the airport’s disruptions were unfolding alongside broader weather-related constraints across New York-area airspace, including programs affecting JFK, Newark, Philadelphia and Washington-area airports. ### What did airport officials tell passengers? (fly.faa.gov) LaGuardia Airport said travelers should expect delays and cancellations and should check directly with their airline for the latest flight information. The airport’s statement, cited by Fox Weather, said, “The Port Authority is in close communication with airlines and airport partners and will continue providing updates as conditions evolve.” (fly.faa.gov) USA Today also reported that the sinkhole shut down a runway at the airport and delayed flights on May 20, citing local authorities. That reporting matched the airport’s account that the problem was discovered during an inspection rather than after an incident involving an aircraft. ### Why is Runway 4/22 notable at LaGuardia? Port Authority planning and contract documents show Runway 4/22 is part of a broader set of airfield infrastructure projects at LaGuardia, including rehabilitation of runway deck structural elements and replacement of runway deck expansion joints. (foxweather.com) Those records do not tie the May 20 sinkhole to any specific project, but they show the runway has been the subject of ongoing capital work. (usatoday.com) A Port Authority board document from 2023 said the agency had authorized a project to replace about 95 expansion joints on concrete runway deck portions of Runway 4/22 and Runway 13/31 and adjacent taxiways. ### What happens next for travelers? As of early May 21, the FAA was still showing weather-related delay programs for LaGuardia, and its status page said passengers should check with their airline to see whether a specific flight was affected. (panynj.gov) The Port Authority had not, in the sources reviewed, published a separate public statement giving a final repair time for the sinkhole-related closure. (panynj.gov) The next practical updates for passengers are expected to come from airline flight-status pages, LaGuardia airport updates and FAA airport-condition notices. Memorial Day travel is already building across major U.S. hubs, and LaGuardia passengers on May 21 were being directed to those channels rather than given a fixed reopening time. (foxweather.com) (fly.faa.gov)