Millions of American travelers encountered a traveler’s worst nightmare on Monday: Mother Nature’s wrath.
At least four major airports experienced heavy delays on Monday afternoon. The Federal Aviation Administration announced a complete ground stop at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York, Philadelphia International Airport, and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, the Daily Mail reported. At LaGuardia Airport, more than a third of flights had been delayed, and all flights were grounded as of 5:00 p.m.
Severe thunderstorms caused the widespread delays, with a cold front sweeping across the eastern seaboard.
Travelers trying to travel to the East Coast before the July 4 holiday weekend were left waiting, with the ground stop starting at around 2:30 p.m. on Monday. According to the FAA’s website, this led flights arriving into JFK to be delayed by an average of two hours and 35 minutes.
Meteorologists have predicted that continuing storms into Tuesday and Wednesday will further disrupt travel.
“Those with flights in, out, or connecting through the region may run into delays and cancellations as storms pass through” on Tuesday, said a senior meteorologist at AccuWeather.
Roughly 60 million travelers pass through JFK each year, making any complete grounding a major pain point in the New York area. Other affected airports include Newark International Airport in New Jersey and Baltimore/Washington International Airport.
The Daily Beast has contacted the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey for comment.
