Some passengers faced hours-long waits on the tarmac at John F. Kennedy Airport Saturday as the airport worked to recover from a powerful winter storm this week.
"A surge in flights at JFK Airport, produced by the rescheduling of delayed flights, combined with the effects of the winter storm, which severely disabled equipment, has resulted in terminal operators and airlines experiencing delays in getting planes and their passengers into their gates," the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said in a statement.
Bitter cold led to ground equipment problems, which was expected to continue through Saturday evening, according to the agency. Officials said the extensive delays were brought on, in part, by a backlog of delayed flights from a powerful winter storm that slammed the region Thursday.
The lengthly delays were reported at JFK international terminals 1, 4, and 7.
There were no immediate reports of similar massive delays at Newark Liberty International Airport.
"At the request of the Port Authority and the terminal operators, the FAA is limiting some flights into JFK, including all flights scheduled to arrive into Terminal 1 for the rest of the evening," the authority said.
Gates that handle international flights reached capacity, causing some planes to be held on the tarmac before terminal gates would be available.
Some frustrated passengers took to social media to share stories of spending hours on the runway. Tweets were being posted under #JFKChaos hashtag.
"I landed in New York 2 hours ago and I'm still sitting on the plane. Get me off this tarmac!!," one Twitter user posted.
"4 hrs on the @JFKairport tarmac and now 90 min waiting for my bag," another post said.
Some flights were diverted to other airports because of the Terminal 1 gate delays, according to flight tracking website Flightradar24, which reported a dozen international flights waiting for gates at JFK Saturday.
More diversions because of the JFK terminal 1 arrival closure.#JL4 is diverting to Boston#KE85 is diverting to Atlanta#DY7015 is diverting to Newburgh Stewart pic.twitter.com/BulG0TnqKP
-- Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) January 7, 2018
The Port Authority said it assigned more staff to help travelers and would continue to offer buses to shuttle passengers back to terminals from flights waiting for a gate.
"The Port Authority intends to aggressively review with its partners, the terminal operators and airlines, the process to assure that planes and passengers get to their gates during the surge of rescheduled flights that follow a severe weather event," the agency added.
Free at last! After a 14-hour flight from Beijing, and another 7-hours stranded on the @JFKairport TarMac, passengers aboard @airchina Flight #CA989 are deplaning. The next concern is lengthy customs lines. Our flight was just one of many that landed, but without a gate assigned pic.twitter.com/hzO1iUSPx0
-- missmonet (@jennimonet) January 6, 2018
Also on Saturday at JFK Airport, officials said a China Southern Airlines Boeing 777 touched the tail of a Kuwait Airways plane around 12:20 a.m. while the China Southern plane was being towed to a taxiway. The Kuwait Airways plane was at the gate awaiting departure when the mishap occurred, according to officials.
The #PAPD Aircraft Rescue Fire Fighter Unit (ARFF) responded to Terminal 4, JFK, last night; a China Southern 777's wing tip struck the tail end of a Kuwait Airways 777 causing damage to both aircraft. #PAPDPROTECTSNYNJ pic.twitter.com/1g2isyyHD4
-- Port Authority PBA (@PAPD911) January 6, 2018
There were no reported injuries from the incident, which the FAA said was under investigation.
Terminal 4 @JFKairport unclaimed luggage. #jfkchaos @ChrisSobel pic.twitter.com/JrzD7AE18j
-- Jessica Formoso (@JessicaFormoso) January 7, 2018