Superstorm Sandy: some UK flights resume
Virgin Atlantic flights from London to New York resume on Wednesday after one of the biggest storms in US history wreaked havoc across its east coast.
Sir Richard Branson’s airline announced it will run nearly all its planned flights today as well as an extra ‘special recovery flight’ to JFK Airport.
The additional flight will be for those who need to reach the city urgently, and to help bring back holidaymakers to the UK.
Two Virgin flights departing from New York – one from JFK and one from Newark – are cancelled, but all other flights should leave as normal.
All BA flights to Boston, Baltimore, Washington and Philadelphia are planned to operate as normal while the majority of the airline’s flights to New York JFK and Newark were cancelled on Wednesay.
The operator cancelled five flights from Heathrow to JFK, and one to Newark, but will send two planes to JFK and one to Newark.
La Guardia still closed
Both JFK and Newark airports partially opened at 7am local time on Wednesday, but La Guardia remains closed.
Around 18,300 flights were cancelled in just three days due to the biggest storm in U.S. history.
British Airways has cancelled the majority of its flights to New York on Wednesday, but others will run.
Flights to other East Coast airports are also expected to be running as usual.
Passengers are advised to check the BA or Virgin websites for the status of their flight before heading to the airport.
For those travelling in New York or along the east coast, people are advised that Amtrak trains are beginning limited services again today after three days of cancellations, and should check www.amtrak.com.
The route between the east coast of the US and Western Europe is one of the busiest in the world.
More than 2.6 million passengers flew from New York’s JFK Airport to Heathrow in London last year – an average of more than 7,100 per day.
Flooded subway
Within New York, where the subway system remains severely affected by flooding, Governor Mario Cuomo announced that a limited service will begin on Thursday.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg warned on Tuesday that the bulk of the network could be out of action for “a good four or five days.” The 108 year old system, which was shut down on Sunday as a precaution, suffered unprecedented damage during the storm, with tunnels flooded, and signals damaged.
