US: Port Authority orders improved New York JFK emergency operations

Stakeholders at New York JFK International Airport were told to implement new interim emergency operational measures “immediately” to avoid a repeat of the calamities seen at JFK Airport during and after the Jan. 4 winter storm, according to directives issued Jan. 18 by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. “What happened at JFK, as we have emphasized over the past two weeks, was unacceptable and must not be allowed to happen again,” Port Authority executive director Rick Cotton said. “[These] interim directives and protocols … are critical initial steps to ensure improved operations in future storms.” With a focus on factors that stymied the airport during the storm, the interim measures look to address procedures involving inbound international carrier traffic, gate availability and wait times, passenger communication, ground equipment failures and baggage repatriation, the Port Authority said. Meanwhile, the independent investigation into the causes and background of the airport’s storm-related failures—which included backed-up incoming aircraft waiting for available gates, a water pipe break and subsequent flood in Terminal 4, a shutdown of Terminal 1 as ground equipment froze, and even an aircraft clipping incident outside T4—being conducted by former US Transportation secretary Ray LaHood formally began, Cotton said.<br/>