Chaos as arctic blast freezes US, Canada

NEW YORK: The eastern US and Canada froze under record-breaking low temperatures on Saturday following a deadly winter storm as New York’s flagship airport descended into chaos, battling to contain flight backlog.

In Canada, temperatures approaching -50°C were forecast in northern Ontario and Quebec.

The deep freeze follows a storm, dubbed a “bomb cyclone” by forecasters.

Thursday’s storm raked the East Coast with heavy snowfall, glacial temperatures and high winds, forcing the cancellation of flights.

But on Saturday, more than 3,420 flights within, into or out of the US were still delayed, with New York’s John F. Kennedy airport and South Carolina’s Charleston among the most affected.

The Port Authority, which runs New York-area airports, announced that flights were being limited into JFK, “including all flights scheduled to arrive into Terminal 1 for the rest of the evening”.

It said a surge in flights rescheduled after the storm, combined with severe storm damage to equipment, resulted in delays in getting planes and passengers to gates.

Tracking site Flightradar24 said at least 12 international flights had been waiting, around two to four hours, for a gate to deplane.

Adding to the chaos, a China Southern Airlines and Kuwait Airways jet clipped each other’s wings at JFK’s Terminal 4 late Friday, causing damage to both aircraft but no injuries, officials said. – AFP

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