Ida flooding leads to 400 Newark flight cancellations

KEY POINTS

• Hundreds of flights were canceled or delayed to and from Newark Liberty International Airport after the storm hit.
• United Airlines was the hardest-hit carrier after its Newark hub experienced massive flooding.

Passengers wait at the terminal as a plane sits on the tarmac during heavy rain at Newark Airport, as local media reported the remnants of Tropical Storm Ida bringing drenching rain and the threat of flash floods and tornadoes to parts of the northern mid-Atlantic, in Newark, New Jersey, September 1, 2021, in this still image taken from video obtained from social media.

INSTAGRAM @FURRYBLUEDRAGON | via REUTERS

Four hundred flights to and from New Jersey's Newark Liberty International Airport were canceled on Thursday after the remnants of Hurricane Ida dumped record rainfall in the tri-state area and caused flooding at the United Airlines hub, where the carrier suspended operations.

The cancellations, ahead of Labor Day weekend, accounted for more than a third of the schedule at the airport.

Flights were briefly suspended at the airport during the storm that hit Wednesday. The lower level of Terminal B was closed as of Thursday morning due to flooding, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

Images on social media showed flooded parts of the terminal as well as flooding in a baggage-handling area.

More than 200 flights, or 11% of United's Thursday schedule were canceled, according to flight-tracking site FlightAware. United said it expected to resume flights on Thursday afternoon.

The Port Authority said LaGuardia Airport in Queens had "minimal" flooding though an image posted to Twitter showed snow-removal equipment being used to clear water from a runway.