Terminal One at JFK Airport suffered a total power outage Thursday, leaving thousands of international travelers in disarray.
A small fire early Thursday morning caused the disruption, according to the Fire Department, affecting all flights in and out of the terminal. Passengers relying on Lufthansa, Korean Air, Saudi Airlines, ITA Airways and Neos, among other airlines, had to go elsewhere.
All outbound flights were canceled Thursday with some international flights being diverted to Newark and Boston, while others moved to the larger Terminal 4. The departures level at Terminal 4 was jammed with passengers with long check-in lines.
Terminal 1 was being run on emergency power with scant power at some of the check-in areas, with long lines of people hoping to re-book.
Lufthansa flights were diverted elsewhere. Meanwhile, Air New Zealand turned back one of its flights and canceled another. Air France’s incoming flights were sent to Newark, with many Air France passengers at Terminal 1 sent to Newark via buses.
Most Terminal 1 concessions were closed, and the elevators and escalators were not functioning. Despite this, new passengers continued to arrive unaware of the power outage.
The Port Authority confirmed that the fire was caused by an electrical panel failure. The authority said that it was extinguished quickly, but nevertheless impacted the power of the entire terminal. There were no reported injuries as result of the fire or power outage.
The AirTrain was running on schedule so passengers could still move from Terminal 1 to Terminal 4.
As of Thursday afternoon, it wasn’t immediately clear when the power will be restored. The Port Authority advises passengers to check with their carriers for any flight changes.
