NEW YORK – The Latest on the aftermath of a snowstorm at New York’s JFK Airport (all times local):
Continue Reading Below
3:30 p.m.
An official with the agency that runs New York’s airports says as many as 200 travelers still don’t have their luggage nearly two weeks after winter weather caused chaos at John F. Kennedy Airport.
Huntley Lawrence, director of aviation for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, said Thursday that “a couple hundred bags” had not been reunited with their owners as of Wednesday.
Port Authority Executive Director Rick Cotton apologized for the breakdown and called it “completely unacceptable.”
The authority has tapped former Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood to investigate the problems that followed the Jan. 4 snowstorm.
Continue Reading Below
ADVERTISEMENT
LaHood promised Thursday to “get to the bottom of this.”
___
12:05 a.m.
Over a week after winter weather woes snowballed into a long weekend of dysfunction at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, some passengers are still waiting for their baggage.
The still-missing luggage is a fraction of the thousands of unclaimed bags that accumulated during the chaos. But it illuminates the magnitude of the breakdown and airlines’ limitations in handling baggage backups.
Consultant Robert Mann says airlines generally have a good record on luggage but aren’t prepared for an unexpected backlog that happens fast.
A JFK official told The Associated Press on Wednesday the backlog had dwindled to about 100 bags. The official wasn’t authorized to discuss the issue publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
That tally apparently doesn’t include bags possibly given to delivery agencies or flown elsewhere.
