Canadians among passengers stranded for hours on tarmac at New York's JFK airport
at 01:40 on December 29, 2010, EST.
Deepti Hajela,Samantha Henry, The Associated Press
Share|NEW YORK, N.Y. - For some airline passengers who were finally able to make it into a New York City airport after a blizzard shut the region down, the travel nightmare started once they landed.
Passengers on two Cathay Pacific flights and a British Airways flight, including many Canadians, spent hours on the tarmac at John F. Kennedy International Airport after landing because there were no gates available for them.
One Cathay Pacific flight that originated in Hong Kong and was diverted to Toronto before landing in New York sat for more than 10 hours before passengers were allowed to walk off Tuesday morning.
The weary travellers said they were given meagre snacks like juice, water, cookies or instant soups, and got conflicting reports about why they could not leave. Explanations ranged from the airport not having enough staff to accommodate landings, Customs not being fully operational and a lack of gate space.
Steve Coleman, a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the airport, said airlines were dispatching planes to the airport without co-ordinating gate space first.
"They did not call or work with the terminal operator at terminal 7, which is where they typically dock," he said in reference to a second stranded Cathay flight. "So without gate space for them, they have nowhere to go."
The second Cathay Pacific flight — which also originated in Hong Kong and made a stop in Vancouver — sat for about 8 hours after landing at JFK Tuesday.
Coleman said the Port Authority worked to find somewhere for the plane to go.
"Our staff out there have been working nonstop for the last several hours to try to find gate space for them even though it has nothing to do with our responsibility as the airport operator; it's the airline's responsibility."
For passenger Abi Subramanian, an investment banker returning home to New York City from a holiday trip in Vancouver, the wait was especially torturous because he was travelling with his 2 1/2-month-old daughter.
"She's been very patient but she's not feeling well," he told The Associated Press about eight hours into the delay and shortly before they were finally able to get off the plane.
"I've been through this before in New York City," he said, referring to big snowstorms. "There's never been anything like this."
Kenneth Choi of Vancouver said he thought the ordeal would be over once they entered the airport. Instead, they faced huge lines in customs and crammed onto an overloaded shuttle buses to get to another terminal and fill out lost luggage forms.
"I don't understand why it takes 9 or 10 hours to figure things out," Choi said. "It's like living in the Stone Age again."
Cathay Pacific spokesman Gus Whitcomb said the planes had taken off under the assumption that they would have somewhere to go upon landing.
"We dispatched the planes expecting we would have gates. That was not the case," he said.
Planes that were expected to depart and clear room for incoming flights were still taking up space, Whitcomb said. He apologized to Cathay's passengers, calling it "one of those situations where the best of intentions didn't go the way we would have liked."
Whitcomb said the airline will try to figure out a tangible way of making it up to passengers.
About 300 passengers on a British Airways flight from London spent more than seven hours overnight at Kennedy.
British Airways spokesman John Lampl said Flight 183 landed Monday night but waited until about 4:30 a.m. for an open gate. By that time, Lampl said, Customs officials had gone home for the night, and passengers had to remain on the plane until more Customs workers showed up at 6 a.m.
at 01:40 on December 29, 2010, EST.
Deepti Hajela,Samantha Henry, The Associated Press
Share|NEW YORK, N.Y. - For some airline passengers who were finally able to make it into a New York City airport after a blizzard shut the region down, the travel nightmare started once they landed.
Passengers on two Cathay Pacific flights and a British Airways flight, including many Canadians, spent hours on the tarmac at John F. Kennedy International Airport after landing because there were no gates available for them.
One Cathay Pacific flight that originated in Hong Kong and was diverted to Toronto before landing in New York sat for more than 10 hours before passengers were allowed to walk off Tuesday morning.
The weary travellers said they were given meagre snacks like juice, water, cookies or instant soups, and got conflicting reports about why they could not leave. Explanations ranged from the airport not having enough staff to accommodate landings, Customs not being fully operational and a lack of gate space.
Steve Coleman, a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the airport, said airlines were dispatching planes to the airport without co-ordinating gate space first.
"They did not call or work with the terminal operator at terminal 7, which is where they typically dock," he said in reference to a second stranded Cathay flight. "So without gate space for them, they have nowhere to go."
The second Cathay Pacific flight — which also originated in Hong Kong and made a stop in Vancouver — sat for about 8 hours after landing at JFK Tuesday.
Coleman said the Port Authority worked to find somewhere for the plane to go.
"Our staff out there have been working nonstop for the last several hours to try to find gate space for them even though it has nothing to do with our responsibility as the airport operator; it's the airline's responsibility."
For passenger Abi Subramanian, an investment banker returning home to New York City from a holiday trip in Vancouver, the wait was especially torturous because he was travelling with his 2 1/2-month-old daughter.
"She's been very patient but she's not feeling well," he told The Associated Press about eight hours into the delay and shortly before they were finally able to get off the plane.
"I've been through this before in New York City," he said, referring to big snowstorms. "There's never been anything like this."
Kenneth Choi of Vancouver said he thought the ordeal would be over once they entered the airport. Instead, they faced huge lines in customs and crammed onto an overloaded shuttle buses to get to another terminal and fill out lost luggage forms.
"I don't understand why it takes 9 or 10 hours to figure things out," Choi said. "It's like living in the Stone Age again."
Cathay Pacific spokesman Gus Whitcomb said the planes had taken off under the assumption that they would have somewhere to go upon landing.
"We dispatched the planes expecting we would have gates. That was not the case," he said.
Planes that were expected to depart and clear room for incoming flights were still taking up space, Whitcomb said. He apologized to Cathay's passengers, calling it "one of those situations where the best of intentions didn't go the way we would have liked."
Whitcomb said the airline will try to figure out a tangible way of making it up to passengers.
About 300 passengers on a British Airways flight from London spent more than seven hours overnight at Kennedy.
British Airways spokesman John Lampl said Flight 183 landed Monday night but waited until about 4:30 a.m. for an open gate. By that time, Lampl said, Customs officials had gone home for the night, and passengers had to remain on the plane until more Customs workers showed up at 6 a.m.
