United canceled hundreds of flights after severe flooding at Newark Airport in the terminal, ramp, and baggage area
SUMIT GALHOTRA/via REUTERS AND INSTAGRAM @FURRYBLUEDRAGON/via REUTERS
- Hurricane Ida brought torrential flooding to New Jersey's Newark Liberty International Airport on Wednesday.
- Newark's ramp, baggage area, and terminals were flooded and hundreds of passengers were stranded in the airport and on aircraft.
- At least 370 flights have been canceled on Thursday, according to the airport, and many United passengers are struggling to get in touch with customer service.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
The remnants of Hurricane Ida brought severe flooding to Newark Liberty International Airport on Wednesday, leaving a river of water throughout the terminal, baggage area, and ramp.
United Airlines was forced to cancel hundreds of flights on Wednesday and Thursday at Newark, according to data from FlightAware, leaving passengers stranded at the flooded airport.
"Due to conditions at Newark Liberty Airport resulting from overnight severe weather in the region, we have temporarily suspended operations. Our teams at Newark are working to assist our customers and we expect to resume flights later this afternoon depending on conditions at the time," the airline told Insider.
According to the National Weather Service, the airport got over three inches of rain in the hour between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. last night and over eight inches in total on Wednesday in Newark.
According to the airport's Twitter page, parking areas had to be closed last night due to flooding, roads leading to the airport were not accessible, and taxi service was limited. The airport said on Twitter that as of 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, all flight activity was suspended and passengers were being moved from ground-level flooded areas.
-Newark Liberty Airport. Wear a Face Covering. (@EWRairport) September 2, 2021
Most of the canceled flight activity was United Airlines, which has a major operating base out of Newark. Some passengers on Twitter voiced frustration over the challenges of reaching United customer service amid the chaos. Many expressed distaste over the airline's lack of communication over how to retrieve their luggage or change flights.
"@united my flight out of Newark got cancelled and in the baggage I packed I had medication I need. I was told I can't get my baggage tonight and there is no eta on when I can get it back. Please help?!?" one passenger said.
"@united would be great to communicate to all of us stuck at Newark on when we can expect our bags to be offloaded or if you can deliver them to us .. or even just say we don't know.. just say something," commented another.
Sarah Collins, a passenger on board United flight 57 to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, told Insider she spent hours on the aircraft before the flight was canceled on Wednesday. The airline would send her texts every half hour saying the flight was delayed another 30 minutes, and that it went on for hours until it was finally canceled, she said.
-Sarah Collins (@sarahdoreenc) September 2, 2021
Like other passengers, Collins was not able to communicate with United's customer service team until after 1 a.m. when she finally received a text from the company allowing her to change her flight on the mobile app.
As of 7:13 a.m. Thursday morning, 370 flights were canceled at Newark, according to the airport.
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Friday, September 03, 2021
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