May 20, 2024
Canada wildfire smoke again slows flights in the Eastern U.S.

Canada wildfire smoke again slows flights in the Eastern U.S.

People take photos of the sun in Central Park as smoke from wildfires in Canada causes hazy conditions in New York City, June 7, 2023.

Timothy A. Clary | AFP | Getty Images

Smoke from Canada wildfires could disrupt flights in the Eastern U.S. again Thursday after hundreds were delayed a day earlier due to decreased visibility, the Federal Aviation Administration said.

“The FAA will likely need to take steps to manage the flow of traffic safely into New York City, [Washington] DC,  Philadelphia and Charlotte [North Carolina] due to reduced visibility from wildfire smoke,” the agency said.

The FAA briefly halted inbound traffic to Philadelphia International Airport earlier Thursday.

Hundreds of flights to and from LaGuardia Airport in New York and nearby Newark Liberty International Airport were delayed Wednesday due to the heavy smoke. The FAA had briefly paused traffic altogether into LaGuardia during the day.

By late morning Thursday, more than 1,300 flights to, from and within the the U.S. were delayed, according to flight tracker FlightAware.

Nearly 68 departures from LaGuardia, or 12% of the schedule, were delayed Thursday as of 11:30 a.m., according to FlightAware. Fifty-six Newark departures, or 8% of the outbound schedule, and a similar number of arrivals to the New Jersey airport were delayed.

This story is developing. Please check back for updates.

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