It should be noted that while JFK and Newark have reopened, limited service is focused on cargo flights and airlines moving planes and crews to the area for later passenger flights, as the New York Times reports.
“Damage from the storm has been extensive,’ United Continental Holdings Inc. Chief Executive Officer Jeff Smisek told employees in a letter yesterday. “The runways at LaGuardia have been flooded, and there has been some facility damage at Newark that we are currently assessing.”
JetBlue spokeswoman Allison Steinberg told Reuters the carrier planned to resume flights at New York area airports on Wednesday afternoon.
New York’s airports closed late on Oct. 29 and “have lagged behind the recovery of East Coast peers as carriers rebuild schedules in cities such as Boston, Philadelphia and Washington,” as Bloomberg writes.
There’s no estimate or announcement regarding a full restoration of service. Nearly 19,000 flights have been cancelled since Sunday, according to flight tracking service FlightAware.com, as Reuters writes.
CEO Rick Seaney of travel website FareCompare estimated that about 1.5 million airline passengers had travel plans interrupted by Sandy in the two days through yesterday, according to Bloomberg.
