As wildfire smoke coming from Canada continues its smothering descent on the tristate area, flights in New York City are experiencing delays. Earlier today, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a temporary ground stop—an air traffic control directive that either slows or halts entirely the flow of inbound flights—on LaGuardia Airport-bound arrivals. Though it has since been lifted, delays on arrivals and departures are still to be expected. Newark Liberty International Airport is also reporting delays, while John F. Kennedy International Airport has acknowledged in a tweet that flights are “currently experiencing arrival and departure delays due to low visibility caused by smoke conditions in the region."
The stop earlier today was issued due to reduced visibility, with the FAA telling CNN in a statement, “[We have] slowed traffic to and from the New York City area airports due to reduced visibility from wildfire smoke. The agency will adjust the volume of traffic to account for the rapidly changing conditions.”
A traffic management program remains in effect at LaGuardia, where flights arriving to New York City are currently delayed an average of 1 hour and 59 minutes, per the FAA, with Newark experiencing delays on arriving flights averaging 1 hour and 22 minutes (these numbers are subject to fluctuation).
New York City currently boasts the biggest bubble on Flight Aware’s MiseryMap—an interactive map the shows the delays and cancellations at major US airports—with 94 delays and 6 cancellations since 1 p.m. EST today. It’s not just the Big Apple effected, either; Philadelphia International Airport is reporting delays averaging 29 minutes—the FAA warned of a ground stop in the city as well, should conditions worsen into the evening.
Smoke from wildfires in Quebec, which started June 2, has been traveling throughout the region in recent days, causing unhealthy air quality as far south as Baltimore and Washington, D.C. Per Weather.com, weather patterns are not expected to change just yet. By the time the weekend comes around, however, winds will shift eastward and should relieve remaining smoke from the region.
Until then, all airports advise checking with airlines to confirm the status of individual flights. If you find that your flight has been delayed due to the smoke, be prepared that you may have limited recourse. Flights delayed for reasons outside of an airline's control—weather, strikes, air traffic control, mechanical issues, and, yes, wildfires—leave an airline with little responsibility beyond getting you to your destination on the next flight out. Consider reaching out to your travel insurance provider (if you have it), or checking with your credit card company if they offer travel insurance on purchases like flights. (Get more tips in our full guide to navigating flight delays and cancellations.)
This article has been updated with new information since its original publish date.
