Weather-related water pipe break disrupts JFK Airport operations

Blast of arctic air engulfs portions of the US, turtles stunned by frigid weather

Workers sweep water from the floor at JFK's terminal 4 where a water pipe broke during brutally cold temperatures following a deadly winter storm. Gushing water compounded a meltdown at the airport, where furious passengers have camped out for days as a result of equipment damaged by the storm and a backlog of flights. Jewel Samad / AFPShow less

A water pipe break in one of the terminals at New York's Kennedy Airport on Sunday added to the delays at the beleaguered airport trying to recover from the aftermath of a snowstorm that has stranded thousands of passengers.

In a statement, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said a water pipe that feeds a sprinkler system in the privately operated Terminal 4 broke at about 2 pm, causing water to flood the terminal and significantly disrupt operations.

"What happened at JFK Airport is unacceptable, and travelers expect and deserve better," said Port Authority Executive Director Rick Cotton. "While the water pipe break that occurred appears to be weather-related, we have launched an investigation into the incident to determine exactly what occurred and why an internal pipe was not weather protected and whether any other failures contributed to this disruption."

The pipe break sent about three inches of water gushing onto the floor of the terminal. Video shows streams cascading from a ceiling and people slogging through pools of water.

Power to the affected areas was temporarily shut off for safety reasons and additional staffing and busing operations were deployed to assist travelers, the Port Authority said.

Domestic arrivals and departures and international departures from Terminal 4 were experiencing delays Sunday. Some international flights destined for Terminal 4 were being diverted or accommodated at other JFK terminals, the Port Authority said.

Following the storm, which blasted New York on Thursday, passengers were kept on planes and waited hours to retrieve luggage as flights were delayed and canceled, and a backup to get to terminal gates built up.

Carlos Koester, 52, was in New York for a week with his wife and two teens and were trying to get home to Brazil.

"We love New York, but now we are stuck here. It's frustrating. The storm caught us and now we have been stranded here for 13 hours," said Mr Koester.

In a statement released before the water pipe break, the Port Authority said Saturday's cold "created a cascading series of issues for the airlines and terminal operators."

"These included frozen equipment breakdowns, difficulties in baggage handling, staff shortages and heavier than typical passenger loads," the statement said.

The blast of arctic air that engulfed portions of the East Coast broke cold temperature records from Maine to West Virginia — although a warm-up is coming on Monday.

Nearly 400 sea turtles found stunned by recent frigid weather along the Texas coast have been returned to the Gulf of Mexico near Corpus Christi.

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