Runway at NYC's LaGuardia Airport reopens after being shut down due to sinkhole
A runway at New York City's LaGuardia Airport that shut down for days due to a sinkhole has reopened following "thorough inspections" and repairs, airport officials announced Friday.
Crews found the sinkhole around 11 a.m. on Wednesday, while conducting a daily morning inspection of the airport's airfield, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
The sinkhole was located near Runway 4/22, one of the airport's two runways, which closed following the discovery, according to the Port Authority.
The airport anticipated the runway to reopen by Saturday morning, before updating Friday that repairs had been completed.
"Following a thorough inspection of LaGuardia's airfield pavement using ground-penetrating radar, areas of concern were identified and proactively repaired," the airport said in a statement. "Those repairs are now complete, and Runway 4/22 has been reopened. Our investigation into the cause of the sinkhole is ongoing."
"While LGA remained open to flight operations during the closure of the runway, reduced capacity affected flight operations," the statement continued. "Travelers should expect residual delays and are encouraged to check their flight status with their airline."
A pilot and ground controller could be heard talking about the sinkhole on Wednesday as crews apparently responded, with the pilot asking "what happened" to the runway, according to audio on ATC.com.
"There's a sinkhole," the ground controller responded, noting that it "looks like they got equipment out there now."
