John F Kennedy Airport: Burst water main floods terminal in further hit for already stranded passengers
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Passengers stranded for days at New York's John F Kennedy International Airport due to a massive winter storm have now had to deal with their luggage being soaked due to a burst water main.
The airport confirmed international flights into its terminal four had been suspended as footage emerged of water streaming from the ceiling and flooding the terminal floor.
Hundreds of suitcases are seen soaked on the terminal floor, with passengers stranded due to a heavy winter storm that has played havoc with air travel in the country's east since last week.
Some frustrated passengers had been sleeping on the airport floor while waiting on delayed flights, CNN reported.
Even before the burst water main, the airport was struggling to cope with the fallout from the winter storm.
Delays were caused, in part, by a collision on the tarmac between two planes on Friday (local time), which created further chaos for travellers.
On the weekend, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which runs the airport, had said it was working with airlines and the Federal Aviation Administration to limit flights into Kennedy "until there are adequate gates available to handle the backlog of flights due to recovery of flight schedules in the wake of Thursday's storm".
At least 18 people have died amid the weather system that saw part of the country's north-east become the coldest place on earth.
Winds of more than 144 kilometres per hour swirled around New Hampshire's Mount Washington, the north-east's highest peak, at a temperature of -38 degrees Celsius and a wind chill of -69C.
It tied for second place with Armstrong, Ontario, as the coldest spot in the world.
Topics: storm-event, weather, air-transport, travel-and-tourism, united-states
