CNN
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The Federal Aviation Administration issued a ground stop to flights to Philadelphia International Airport and briefly grounded flights to New York’s LaGuardia Airport. Smoke from Canadian wildfires continues Spread throughout the northeastern United States.
For a so-called ground stop, flights scheduled to fly to Philadelphia must be on the ground at their home airport. It is scheduled to lift at 9:15 a.m. ET, and the FAA said it will not be extended.
A similar ground stop at LaGuardia Airport was lifted at 7:45 a.m. ET, and downgraded to a “ground delay.” The company said the average flight delay was 54 minutes, with the maximum delay lasting 94 minutes. Delays in and out of LaGuardia are expected through Thursday night. A A similar ground stop Delivered on Wednesday.
The FAA’s operational plan for Thursday shows smoke affecting the ability to travel from New York to Charlotte throughout the day.
“Reduced visibility from wildfire smoke may require the FAA to take action to safely manage traffic into New York City, DC, Philadelphia and Charlotte,” the agency’s statement said.
According to tracking service FlightAware, as of 8 a.m. ET, 678 flights to and from the U.S. had been delayed, 56 of which had been canceled. New York’s JFK Airport and Newark Liberty Airport in Newark, New Jersey were hit hard by the fog. JFK had two canceled flights and 28 delays, accounting for 4% of its schedule. Newark had three canceled flights and 17 delays, accounting for 2% of its flights. LaGuardia was not listed among FlightAware’s most affected airports. Wednesday ended with 5,600 US flight delays and 162 cancellations, though not all due to smoke.
US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg He tweeted that On Wednesday, “Smoke from Canada’s wildfires is affecting visibility in our airspace and leading to delays. The FAA is fully prepared to modify operations as needed.
– CNN’s Chris Isidore and Gregory Wallace contributed to this report
This story was updated from the source.