SCARY: Sinkhole Shuts Down Airport Runway in New York City

Well, this is a new one…

On Wednesday, a runway at LaGuardia Airport in New York City was forced to close after a sinkhole opened up.

Thankfully, the sinkhole was discovered before anyone could be injured.

Here’s some footage from the scene:

🇺🇸 A freaking sinkhole took out a runway at LaGuardia in NY.

They shut it down immediately. No injuries.

This airport really can’t catch a break.

Source: Fox News pic.twitter.com/mz6EiziJZW

— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) May 20, 2026

A runway at LaGuardia Airport was shut down on Wednesday due to a sinkhole that was spotted during daily morning inspection. Port Authority of New York and New Jersey crews noticed the hole on the taxiway right on the edge of Runway 4/22 at around 11 a.m. and immediately closed… pic.twitter.com/rh1fVQMyCI

— CBS News (@CBSNews) May 20, 2026

LaGuardia Airport released this statement:

At approximately 11 a.m., the Port Authority was conducting its daily morning inspection of LaGuardia’s airfield when crews identified a sinkhole near Runway 4/22. The runway was immediately shut down, and emergency construction and engineering crews are onsite to determine the…

— LaGuardia Airport (@LGAairport) May 20, 2026

At approximately 11 a.m., the Port Authority was conducting its daily morning inspection of LaGuardia’s airfield when crews identified a sinkhole near Runway 4/22. The runway was immediately shut down, and emergency construction and engineering crews are onsite to determine the cause and complete necessary repairs as quickly and safely as possible.

The Port Authority is in close communication with airlines and airport partners and will continue providing updates as conditions evolve. Travelers should expect delays and cancellations, particularly with forecast thunderstorms expected later today, and are strongly encouraged to check directly with their airlines for the latest flight status information.

What on earth is going on at these New York airports?

This isn’t the first serious problem to happen at this airport in recent times.

At this very same runway, two pilots were killed in a collision back in March.

Per NBC New York:

The runway where the sinkhole was found is the same one where an Air Canada jet crashed into a Port Authority fire truck while landing in March, killing the two pilots.

The runway is expected to re-open on Thursday after the necessary repairs are finished.

It caused significant delays for many flyers on Wednesday.

The New York Post shared some witness accounts:

Several passengers at the travel hub told The Post their flights made wonky detours to work around the runway closure, delaying their landings.

“We flew around Manhattan in a weird direction. Lately, with all the mishaps and near misses at major airports, I’m thankful they found it before a plane went into it. I hope there were no injuries,” said Kit Deason, an IT manager from Alabama who flew Southwest.

“The pilot said that there were delays because the planes were ‘single file lining up at LaGuardia’. They didn’t say a sinkhole. I’m a firefighter, so I know if they’re shutting down runways, there’s a problem,” added Ryan Mastian, who flew American Airlines from Indianapolis to meet up with Deason.

The runway snafu also snarled some people’s travel plans, including those hoping to board connecting flights.

ADVERTISEMENT

“The pilot said over the loudspeaker that we may have to sit on the runway for a while when we landed, but we didn’t have to. But now our connecting flight is completely canceled,” said Samantha, a 36-year-old veterinarian from Maine.

Other jetsetters, such as Rick Samko, who was trying to fly back to Miami with JetBlue, complained about hours-long delays to board his flight.

“A sinkhole- that’s a first. A sinkhole at an airport — it wasn’t on my bingo card, I’ll tell you that. We were supposed to board at 8, and now the flights pushed back until 2 a.m. What’s going on?” said Samko, 42.

“Now I’m just trying to rent a car to drive home.”

CBS Evening News provided additional coverage here:

After a sinkhole opened up near a runway at LaGuardia Airport Wednesday morning, there are new concerns about travel as millions of Americans are expected to hit the road and skies for the Memorial Day holiday weekend. @KrisVanCleave has the latest. pic.twitter.com/neR4f2qLiH

— CBS Evening News with Tony Dokoupil (@CBSEveningNews) May 20, 2026