A small fire broke out at JFK Airport on Wednesday morning, resulting in nine people sustaining minor injuries. Additionally, several flights were impacted due to the incident.
Around 7:15 a.m., an escalator in Concourse C caught fire and emitted smoke throughout Terminal 8.
Approximately 960 individuals were relocated from the immediate vicinity and transferred to a different section of the terminal. Fortunately, only minor smoke inhalation injuries were sustained by nine individuals, and four of them were transported to the hospital for further evaluation.
After the FDNY ventilated the terminal, it was deemed safe and cleared to reopen.
Out of the 89 American flights scheduled to depart from Kennedy on Wednesday, three American Eagle regional departures were canceled due to the fire. American Airlines, which occupies the terminal, released this statement.
The chaos that followed was captured in videos posted to social media. The tarmac held hundreds of passengers while hundreds more were left stranded, unable to take off.
After a two-hour delay, Johnny St. Louis and Emmanuel Germain were fortunate to have made it back to New York from Boston this afternoon. St. Louis stated that their only thought was to reach home as they were exhausted and eager to get back.
The impact of the situation was heavily felt by American Airlines, causing a significant number of delays across the country. Roughly 25% of American Airlines flights experienced delays, while numerous others were completely canceled.
Yesterday, Christian Shaefer and his family experienced a canceled flight from Bermuda to the US, which resulted in them waiting for their luggage. Although they were rebooked for a flight early this morning, their travel plans were further disrupted due to a delay caused by the fire incident.
Shaefer expressed frustration with the lack of information provided during the flight delay. “If we were simply informed of the scheduled departure time, that would have been acceptable.
However, the constant delays and inability to leave the airport compounded the issue. We checked the board, which displayed a series of delayed times ranging from 2:00 to 5:00. When we asked about the status, there were no updates provided to the five or six of us waiting.”
Terminal 8 was fully ventilated and back in operation with lingering delays by midmorning. Authorities are currently investigating the cause of the fire.
