A sinkhole was found around 11 a.m. on May 20 near runway 4/22 during a daily inspection at New York's LaGuardia Airport, prompting an immediate closure of the runway for emergency repairs and inspections [1, 2, 3, 4]. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said travelers should expect delays and cancellations, especially as thunderstorms were forecast later that day [1]. On its official X account, LaGuardia Airport confirmed, "The runway was immediately shut down, and emergency construction and engineering crews are onsite to determine the cause and complete necessary repairs as quickly and safely as possible" [2].
The closure caused significant disruption on May 20, with about 200 flights canceled and 190 delayed, affecting approximately 17% of flights operating that day [1, 4, 5]. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) responded by slowing flight traffic into LaGuardia and managing air traffic to reduce congestion amid the sinkhole and weather issues [1, 5].
Emergency repairs and inspections have continued since discovery. On May 21, ground-penetrating radar identified additional concerns on runway 4/22, requiring further repair work [6, 7]. By the morning of May 22, around 150 flights (13%) remained delayed due to the runway closure [6, 7]. The Port Authority crews are actively working to address the sinkhole and complete necessary fixes [6, 7].
The sinkhole formed on the same runway involved in a March crash where an Air Canada Express flight struck a Port Authority fire truck, killing two pilots. However, investigation units have found no known link between the sinkhole and the earlier crash [2, 5, 8]. No injuries have been reported in connection with the sinkhole incident [3, 9, 10, 11].
The runway 4/22 is expected to reopen by 6 a.m. on May 23 after repairs are completed [6, 7]. The closure occurred during the busy Memorial Day holiday travel period, which sees about 18 million air passengers around LaGuardia [6, 7].
