Power Outage at LaGuardia Triggers Hundreds of Cancellations & Delays, Delta Hit Hardest

A power outage at LaGuardia resulted in hundreds of flight cancelations Friday morning, hitting Delta hardest.

Upwards of 170 flights were canceled at LaGuardia Airport (LGA) Friday morning due to a brief power outage. The cancellations — accounting for about 15 percent of LGA’s daily schedule — impacted thousands of travelers, primarily those flying Delta Air Lines. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) airport acknowledged on its LGA page the power outage was affecting all incoming and outgoing flights in Terminal C, notifying travelers:

Due to current power outages affecting airlines operating in Terminal C, Parking Lots 4 and 5, flight disruptions may result. Please check with your airline to determine if your flight is affected.

USA Today reports the power outage began around 4:30 a.m. ET and only affected Terminal C. While the terminal is shared by Delta and American Airlines (operating as US Airways), Delta suffered the most. The outage reportedly stopped most operations in and around the terminal, including the operation of jetways to and from the aircraft.

The Associated Press reports power was partially restored around 8:30 a.m., about four hours after the outage began, with communications systems back online around 9:45 a.m and departures resuming around 10:30 a.m. According to a PANYNJ representative, the outage was caused by a contractor in the area who accidentally cut two electric feeders that serve LGA. The construction on the arrivals portion of Terminal C began on March 10, 2015 as part of an overall renovation plan.

As of 1:30 p.m. ET, FlightAware.com reported 174 cancellations and 123 delays at LGA. Delta laid claim to 119 of those cancellations on its website and encouraged all travelers to check their flight status before heading to the airport, warning of delays averaging three hours as operations return to normal.

[Photo: Anthony DiLorenzo, Air11 via Twitter]