Traveling through LaGuardia Airport isn't ever exactly a day at the beach, but today seems to be particularly bad, as far as air travel fiascos go. A power outage led to long lines and delays this morning, prompting disgruntled Southwest and Spirit airlines passengers to take their grievances to Twitter—which, it's worth noting, is arguably the most efficient way to get any sort response from an airline in this day and age.
100% see why Joe Biden called Laguardia Airport a 3rd world country... Never flying out of here again
— Angela Marino (@iheartpotter) June 25, 2016
LaGuardia Terminal B completely shutdown (due to power?). It's a hot hot mess. #tsa #laguardia #southwestairlines #missedflights
— Kristen Paroski (@kparoski) June 25, 2016
Can someone at @SouthwestAir please explain what's happening at LaGuardia this morning?? Over 1,500 waiting for flights !!!
— Ryan Beydler (@RyanBeydler) June 25, 2016
NBC reports that the outage affected just one security checkpoint, but the backup led to unusually long lines around 5 a.m. The power has since been restored.
But the fun's not over yet: the Port Authority is conducting a full-scale emergency response drill at the airport today, going until about 1 p.m. It's not expected to impact flight operations, but travelers shouldn't be alarmed if they see simulated smoke and an unusual number of emergency vehicles around the airport.
Is this part of the Laguardia drill? Terminal B Gate B is completely shut down at TSA b/c of a security gate that won't open. #LGAgate
— Brady Koch (@BradyTheWriter) June 25, 2016
But don't fret: our governor has a Big Plan for LaGuardia, and he promises that a shiny $4 billion terminal will cut down on those pesky delays that keep earning the airport a spot on Worst Of lists. At the very least, your flight delays will be more Instagrammable...in 2021.
