Coronavirus: FAA briefly suspends all flights bound for NYC, Philadelphia airports
The Federal Aviation Administration has lifted a brief suspension of flights to New York City-area airports because of coronavirus-related staffing issues at a regional air-traffic control center.
In an alert posted online Saturday, the agency advised air traffic controllers to “stop all departures” to Kennedy, LaGuardia, Newark and other airports in the region. The directive also affected Philadelphia International Airport.
The halt was lifted after about 30 minutes. Initially air traffic controllers were warned it could last several hours.
“A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) air traffic controller trainee at New York Air Route Traffic Control Center in Ronkonkoma, N.Y., tested positive for COVID-19 today,” the FAA said in a release shared with USA TODAY by spokesperson Arlene Salac.Â
The employee who tested positive has not been at the facility since Tuesday. The FAA has contacted local health authorities and is developing a plan to sanitize the affected areas.Â
