JFK Airport’s Terminal 1 will reopen fully on Sunday after a power outage caused days of delays and cancelations at the international hub.
The airport announced on Twitter Saturday afternoon that Terminal 1 “will have normal, scheduled flight operations on Sunday.”
JFK Terminal 1 has advised they will have normal, scheduled flight operations on Sunday, 2/19.
— John F. Kennedy Airport (@JFKairport) February 18, 2023
"Limited flight activity" resumed Saturday at the airport after crews completed electrical repairs and restored power to the terminal overnight, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey officials said.
Port Authority officials said Saturday that of the 64 arrivals and departures that were originally scheduled at Terminal 1 that day, 26 flights would operate at Terminal 1, 18 flights would be handled at other JFK terminals, 10 flights were canceled, eight flights would move to Newark Liberty International Airport and two flights would move to New York Stewart International Airport.
The Thursday power outage was caused by an electrical panel failure, which resulted in a small fire. While Port Authority officials say the fire was immediately extinguished, international flights to and from JFK Airport were affected by the outage.
The electrical failure extended all the way to departure boards within Terminal 1, which had to be handwritten while engineers worked to troubleshoot the problem, according to officials.
The Associated Press reported that the terminal closure forced an Air New Zealand flight — which was two-thirds of the way across the Pacific Ocean — to turn around and head back to Auckland. The flight landed in New Zealand after more than 16 hours in the air.