A sinkhole discovered beside one of only two runways at New York’s LaGuardia Airport forced the closure of Runway 4/22 on Wednesday, triggering more than 200 flight cancellations and approximately 190 further delays in a single day, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey confirmed.
The disruption struck at one of the worst possible moments. Travellers heading into the Memorial Day holiday weekend were already booking in large numbers, and forecasters were warning of thunderstorms across the New York metropolitan area later that day, a combination that stretched an already congested airport beyond its limits.
Sinkhole Found During Routine Inspection
Port Authority crews identified the sinkhole at approximately 11 a.m. on Wednesday while conducting their daily morning inspection of LaGuardia’s airfield pavement. The damage was located near Runway 4/22, and the runway was immediately taken out of service. Emergency construction and engineering teams were deployed to determine the cause and carry out repairs.
The Port Authority later confirmed that investigators using ground-penetrating radar had identified possible additional areas of concern during follow-up inspections. Out of an abundance of caution, engineering crews decided to keep Runway 4/22 closed while further checks were completed. The runway was initially expected to remain shut until 6 a.m. Thursday, though that timeline was not guaranteed.
“LGA remains open to flight operations, but we expect delays throughout the day, so travellers should check with their airline for flight status before arriving at the airport,” the Port Authority said in a statement.
Two Runways, No Room for Error
LaGuardia’s vulnerability to this type of incident is structural. Unlike John F. Kennedy International Airport or Newark Liberty International Airport, both of which have multiple runways to absorb disruptions, LaGuardia operates with just two. With Runway 4/22 closed, all arriving and departing traffic was funnelled onto the single remaining runway, 13/31, dramatically reducing the airport’s hourly capacity.
Flight tracking data showed that average delays for inbound flights climbed to between 90 and 100 minutes at the height of the disruption. Cancellations and delays quickly spread beyond New York, affecting key routes connecting LaGuardia with major hubs including Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas and Toronto.
Delta Bears the Brunt
Delta Air Lines, which operates approximately 40 per cent of all flights at LaGuardia, was the airline most severely affected. Because the carrier runs such a large share of the airport’s schedule, the sudden loss of runway capacity translated into cascading cancellations and delays across its wider domestic network. The airline advised passengers to monitor flight status closely and make use of flexible rebooking options where available.
A Troubled Record at Runway 4/22
The closure added fresh significance to a runway already marked by a recent tragedy. In March 2026, an Air Canada Express CRJ-900 operating flight AC8646 from Montreal collided with a Port Authority fire truck while landing on the same Runway 4/22, killing the two pilots. The National Transportation Safety Board opened an investigation into that accident, which also caused mass disruptions and grounded around 600 flights on the day it occurred.
The sinkhole incident is the latest in a series of disruptions at LaGuardia. The airport, which handled more than 30 million passengers in 2025, has faced repeated operational pressure from weather events, staffing constraints and infrastructure strain over recent months.
Wider Scrutiny on US Aviation Safety
The LaGuardia sinkhole added to growing scrutiny over the state of US aviation infrastructure. American airports have faced a sequence of serious safety events and operational disruptions in recent months, drawing attention from regulators, lawmakers and the travelling public alike. Newark Liberty International Airport, also serving the New York area, experienced a control tower evacuation on the same day as the March Air Canada crash, compounding regional disruption on that occasion.
Industry observers note that airports running at or near capacity have little buffer to absorb sudden infrastructure failures. A single runway closure at an airport such as LaGuardia, where demand consistently pushes against physical limits, can ripple through hundreds of services and affect tens of thousands of passengers in a matter of hours.
Passengers Advised to Check Before Travelling
The Port Authority urged all passengers due to travel through LaGuardia to check directly with their airlines for the latest flight status information. Thunderstorms forecast for Wednesday afternoon threatened to compound the backlog further, with air traffic controllers already managing weather-related flow restrictions across all three major New York-area airports.
No injuries were reported in connection with the sinkhole. A full timeline for the restoration of normal two-runway operations had not been published by the time this report was filed.
