Yesterday, a massive blizzard — aka the “bomb cyclone” winter storm — forced a Singapore Airlines (SIA) flight bound for John F. Kennedy (JFK) International Airport to land at a small New York airport instead, as New York’s main airfield had temporarily suspended flights due to “strong winds and whiteout conditions”.
Due to strong winds and whiteout conditions, flights at JFK have been temporarily suspended. Travelers are urged to contact their airline carriers for updates on resumption of service
— Kennedy Airport (@JFKairport) January 4, 2018
The 325 passengers on board SQ26 from Frankfurt to New York were supposed to land at 11:07am Eastern Time on Thursday, but ended up getting diverted to Stewart International Airport, located about 130km north of JFK Airport, and landing around 1pm.
Oh my…look at what #winterstormgrayson just dropped in at #Stewart International Airport ✈️#SWF #SWFairport #Singapore #Airbus380 #A380 #Diversion #AvGeeks #AvGeek #Blizzard2018 pic.twitter.com/968Oo1QzVZ
— Stewart Airport (@SWFairport) January 4, 2018
One man on board told CNBC that passengers finally disembarked the Airbus A380 — the world’s largest passenger jet — only after 5pm Eastern Time. As the smaller airport did not have gates catering to A380 aircraft, outdoor stairs had to be carried over to the plane for passengers to alight.
A spokesperson from Singapore Airlines said that passengers were offered refreshments upon disembarking, and that ground transportation was arranged for the passengers to get to New York, Channel NewsAsia noted.
As for JFK Airport, flights are scheduled to resume at 7am today, Eastern Time.
Correction: Flights scheduled to resume at JFK Airport at 7 a.m. Friday, 01/05/2018. https://t.co/vMJ88hwchh
— Kennedy Airport (@JFKairport) January 5, 2018
