Overview
- Port Authority crews discovered a sinkhole near Runway 4/22 during a daily airfield inspection and shut the runway immediately, forcing LaGuardia to operate on a single runway.
- The closure sharply reduced the airport’s capacity and led the FAA to slow arrivals and issue ground delays that contributed to hundreds to more than a thousand delays and cancellations.
- Engineers are using ground‑penetrating radar and coring to search for additional voids while crews make surface repairs, and officials say they will only reopen the runway after inspections confirm it is safe.
- Authorities have not identified a definitive cause for the collapse, and coverage notes the runway had earlier closed after the March 22 collision and that regional sinkholes and aging underground infrastructure are common risk factors.
- The shutdown arrived on the eve of the Memorial Day travel surge with forecast thunderstorms complicating operations, leaving travelers facing rebookings, airline waivers, longer waits, and wider ripple effects across schedules.