LaGuardia Airport closed one of its two runways Wednesday evening for the second time in less than a month, this time after crews discovered a two-inch depression adjacent to Runway 4/22 during a routine airfield inspection. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey shut the runway down at 5 p.m. so crews could conduct structural testing, identify the cause of the depression, and perform any necessary stabilization work.
The Port Authority said there is no immediate safety concern and that the closure is precautionary. The goal is to complete the assessment and any required repairs overnight and return Runway 4/22 to service by Thursday morning. LaGuardia’s second runway, Runway 13/31, remained open, allowing flights to continue arriving and departing, but the reduced capacity immediately created significant disruption.
The FAA put a ground delay program into effect, with departure delays to LaGuardia running approximately one hour. FlightAware data showed 174 delays at the airport as of Wednesday evening. Travelers with flights in or out of LaGuardia are being urged to check directly with their airlines for the latest information on delays and cancellations.
The same runway that caused chaos during Memorial Day weekend
Wednesday’s closure is not the first time Runway 4/22 has caused headaches for LaGuardia travelers this year. In May, the same runway was shut down for two days after a large sinkhole was discovered at the edge of the taxiway during the busy Memorial Day travel period. That closure triggered hundreds of delayed and canceled flights, frustrating travelers who had little notice and limited options at one of the country’s most congested airports.
The cause of that May sinkhole remains under investigation. It is not yet clear whether Wednesday’s depression is related to the same underlying issue or represents a separate pavement problem. The Port Authority has not confirmed a connection between the two incidents, and structural testing is being conducted to determine what is driving the latest defect.
What this means for LaGuardia’s infrastructure
LaGuardia Airport has undergone significant renovation in recent years as part of a multibillion-dollar redevelopment effort that transformed much of the aging facility. The recurring runway issues raise questions about the condition of the airfield’s pavement and subsurface infrastructure, which have not been part of the main terminal redevelopment.
LaGuardia is one of the busiest airports in the United States and operates with only two runways, which leaves it with almost no redundancy when one goes offline. Any closure, even a precautionary overnight one, has an outsized effect on operations compared to larger airports with more runway capacity. The ripple effect of even a one-hour ground delay at LaGuardia can cascade through connections across the country, given how tightly scheduled operations are at the facility.
The Port Authority has said it will provide updates as the assessment progresses. If repairs cannot be completed overnight, the closure could extend into Thursday’s morning travel period, compounding delays for another wave of commuters and travelers.