JFK Airport is flooding right now, and the pictures will literally make you shriek
As if the freezing temperatures plaguing the Northeast couldn’t be worse, travelers at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York were in for an unexpected nightmare after a water main broke at a baggage claim area in Terminal 4.
After nearly two weeks of record-breaking low temperatures — not to mention the storm that’s being referred to as a “bomb cyclone” — left flights all over the region grounded, or saw passengers stranded on the tarmac for hours at a time, post-holiday traveling has not been easy. But things got a whole lot worse at JFK when a major pipe — which, according to CNN, was connected to the sprinkler system in Terminal 4 — burst in what was believed to be a weather-related incident, leaving muddy water all over the floor and travelers braving the outside temperatures in order to escape the flooding.
While the copious delays were already creating a stressful situation for travelers looking to claim their baggage at Terminal 4, one of the airport’s major international terminals, the flooding made the situation something out of every traveler’s nightmares.
Reporters and passengers bearing witness to the horrible situation took photos and videos of the incident.
We can’t decide which is worse: the flooding or the claustrophobia-inducing amount of luggage and people crammed into a small space.
First, a “bomb cyclone” stranded some travelers at JFK Airport for days. Then a water main broke and flooded a baggage claim area. https://t.co/6JYqp1KL4u pic.twitter.com/WPt1PVd2zx
— CNN (@CNN) January 8, 2018
My friend @RyanTopley just texted me this pic from JFK and my entire body is now covered in hives. pic.twitter.com/DmLPWnBw6L
— Michelle Collins (@michcoll) January 8, 2018
Luggage sitting on the sludge and snow at jfk pic.twitter.com/98r41inw7b
— Lucas Brownlee (@LucasBrownlee14) January 8, 2018
Water main break adds insult to injury at weather-plagued #JFK airport. Cascades of water flooded customs hall in Terminal 4. Customs closed, planeloads of people stuck on flights that already landed. Other flights diverted elsewhere. #abc7ny pic.twitter.com/I5CUDEBPZ4
— Josh Einiger (@JoshEiniger7) January 7, 2018
Smh, people are still looking for their luggage. This is really bad. @JFKairport @flysaa pic.twitter.com/yLoPASSL8M
— Akinfe Fatou 👉🏾🧼👏🏾😷💉👍🏾 (@Akinfe) January 6, 2018
Hope u guys are enjoying championship but I’m at JFK and ive never seen an airport more #YIKES in my life pic.twitter.com/rddIEpjccB
— The Wonton Don (@DonnieDoesWorld) January 9, 2018
A water main break at John F. Kennedy Airport in #NYC set off an evacuation of a major terminal Sunday and caused delays, cancellation of flights and flooding, including in a baggage claim area.#jfk #jfkairport #jfkchaos #ColumbusInternational #KellerWilliams
Photo: NewsPuppet pic.twitter.com/qHnUo4ZvAZ— Columbus Intl (@Columbus_Intl) January 8, 2018
This is baggage claim at @JFKairport right now. This is not failure due to a storm this is INCOMPETENCY. People have been waiting up to 3 HOURS for their bags and being told if they leave it could take up to 3 days for delivery. @Delta #UNACCEPTABLE pic.twitter.com/zf5sFSZJlW
— Wilson Cruz (@wcruz73) January 7, 2018
Between the many, many delays and the flooding, passengers were left rightfully wondering when they’d be reunited with their missing (and hopefully dry) suitcases.
Luckily, it appears Terminal 4 is back up and running at full capacity. Port Authority, which runs JFK, released a statement in response to the Terminal 4 flooding, calling the incident “unacceptable” and announcing that it would be launching an investigation into the root cause of the pipe burst.
"What happened at JFK Airport is unacceptable, and travelers expect and deserve better," Port Authority Executive Director Rick Cotton said in a statement. "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 Port Authority is committed to providing the highest caliber of service to all travelers and we will hold those responsible accountable for any shortcomings we find."
We’re glad the Port Authority is taking this incident seriously, because we can’t even imagine what those travelers have been dealing with over the past few days. We hope JFK is being generous to those who’ve been severely delayed by the incidents at the airport.