Water leak delays or cancellations of many flights at JFK airport

Water leak at one of the control towers at the John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York on Saturday evening caused the delays or cancellations of hundreds of flights, reported Xinhua, quoting media reports on Sunday.

Nearly 300 flights were reportedly delayed or diverted.

The disruption occurred on the busiest Independence Day weekend for travel since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Some 3.7 million Americans would reportedly fly this weekend, a 164 percent increase from last year.

The airport is the busiest international air passenger gateway into North America and the busiest airport in the New York airport system, handling over 62.5 million passengers in 2019. More than 90 airlines operate from the airport, with nonstop or direct flights to destinations in all six inhabited continents.