Why is JFK airport in so much more disarray today than EWR or LGA with 6 hr. departure delays at JFK vs. 2 hrs

Question

We are sitting in Ft. Lauderdale and there is a 6 hour departure hold where no flight can take off less than 6 hours after its scheduled departure. Meanwhile, my brother going to LGA took off only 2 hours late with no departure hold. Why is JFK in so much more of a catastrophic situation than LGA or EWR? Is there a valid reason or is it bureaucratic bungling (FAA, airlines, or other)? There's a bunch of us here who would love to know the real story.

Answer 1

The traffic patterns between JFK, EWR and LGA are all really different. While there's domestic and International flying in and out of both, the flights that make up the heaviest traffic into JFK are mid-range and short-haul domestic trips; EWR and LGA get more International and long-haul. This has to do with the length of the runways and the airlines that have the bigger gate presence at each airport. So JKF is more impacted by the weather of the rest of the airports in/around the Eastern US than LGA and EWR are. Chances are, the airline you are flying on has a lot of planes sitting at the gate at JFK waiting to go somewhere else and that means no space for your plane there.

Answer 2

fortuitously for you the Delta flights to Chicago go away from the Marine Terminal. Delta's different terminal at LGA is basically nuts. i don't understand what got here about to it, it grow to be once the type of impressive terminal. I flew out of it 3 weeks in the past, and it looked like the East aspect IRT in the midst of the push hour. Too crowded, no longer sufficient places to sit down, noisy. It took us almost an hour to take off on a great day, and we nonetheless arrived on time. an similar flight from JFK, on a similar plane, shows 20 minutes shorter. about 5 weeks in the past, i tried to p.c.. up someone at Delta's terminal, the p.c.. up area grow to be thoroughly jammed, it took me about 20 minutes to get through it. i ultimately suggested as the guy and requested him to fulfill me upstairs, on the departure area.