A day after a glowing orange smoke enveloped New York City, there was great concern that the smoky conditions would wreak havoc on air travel plans.
Hundreds of flights to and from LaGuardia Airport in New York and nearby Newark Liberty International Airport were delayed Thursday due to the heavy smoke. The Federal Aviation Administration had briefly paused traffic altogether into LaGuardia during the day.
A look on the runways at LaGuardia showed smoke lingering, and that smoke led to delays. While the delays were not overly lengthy — During the afternoon, Newark and LaGuardia had delays of less than an hour — the quantity of delays was still there, as hundreds of flights had been delayed at LaGuardia alone.
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But why would smoke levels have such a drastic impact on air travel, but things like fog or precipitation don't seem to trigger as many disturbances. The FAA explained why.
"When aircraft need to land during periods of poor visibility they rely on advanced navigation systems both on board the aircraft and on the ground. These systems work well through water droplets but can be less effective through solid particles such as smoke and ash," the FAA said in a tweet.
The agency also explained the additional safety precautions air traffic controllers take in smoky conditions.
"This includes greater distances between arriving and departing aircraft as well as limiting types of aircraft that may land because of their navigational equipment," the FAA said on Twitter.
Are you or anyone you know flying today? Check here to see what flights have been delayed at NYC area airports.
