Travelers trying to leave New York are having a chaotic morning after a plane and fire rescue vehicle collided, killing two pilots and injuring dozens, Sunday night at LaGuardia Airport.
Some passengers scheduled to depart from the East Elmhurst airport were told to go to John F. Kennedy International Airport.
One man said he woke up on Monday morning to an email notifying him to change his flight.
“We got rerouted from LaGuardia. We were supposed to have taken off from there,” he said. “I was happy not to be out of that airport at that particular time. Hearts go out to anyone who might have been impacted.”
A student from the University of Southern California was trying to get to Los Angeles after spending her break in the Big Apple.
“I changed my flight to JFK, so I plan to have an Uber to get there,” she said. “It’s at 2 p.m., so I have plenty of time.”
Another family from Oklahoma was trying to get back to Tulsa after also spending spring break in New York. They said they were waiting at LaGuardia for hours and went on three different planes before their flight was canceled.
The airport is closed, and most flights are canceled, according to the LaGuardia website.
“Our thoughts are with the victims, their families, and everyone affected. The airport will remain closed until 2 p.m. We’ll continue to share updates as they become available,” said New York Gov. Kathy Hochul.
The incident happened when an Air Canada plane and a fire-and-rescue vehicle collided on a runway, officials said. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said the pilot and co-pilot were killed, and 41 people were taken to the hospital.