People take pictures 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 wildfires in Canada could disrupt flights in the eastern United States again Thursday, the Federal Aviation Administration said, after hundreds were grounded the previous day due to reduced visibility.
“It is likely that the FAA will need to take steps to safely manage the flow of traffic into New York City, [Washington] D.C., Philadelphia, and Charlotte [North Carolina] “Due to poor visibility from the smoke from the forest fires,” the agency said.
The Federal Aviation Administration briefly halted incoming traffic at Philadelphia International Airport earlier Thursday.
Hundreds of flights to and from New York’s LaGuardia Airport and nearby Newark Liberty International Airport were delayed Wednesday due to heavy smoke. The FAA briefly halted traffic completely in LaGuardia during the day.
By late Thursday morning, more than 1,300 flights to, from and within the United States had been delayed, according to FlightAware flight tracker.
Approximately 68 LaGuardia departures, or 12% of the schedule, were delayed Thursday as of 11:30 a.m., according to FlightAware. Fifty-six flights departed from Newark, or 8% of the departure schedule, and a similar number of arrivals at the New Jersey airport were delayed.
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