LaGuardia Sinkhole: Routine Inspection Catches Subsurface Collapse; Reopening Pushed to Saturday
NEW YORK — May 22, 2026 — A sinkhole discovered during a routine morning airfield inspection at LaGuardia Airport has closed one of the airport’s two runways for three days. The timing could not be worse — cascading delays are rippling across the Northeast as Memorial Day weekend travel hits its peak.
Maintenance crews spotted the void during an 11 a.m. inspection on Wednesday, May 20, and immediately shut down Runway 4/22. By Friday morning, the runway remained closed — and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said it would not reopen before 6 a.m. Saturday at the earliest.
The Inspection System Did Its Job
The discovery came during the kind of daily visual check that airports must conduct before flight operations. Crews sweep runway surfaces for pavement damage, loose hardware, surface anomalies, and any debris that could threaten departing or arriving aircraft.
In this case, however, the find was far more serious than a pothole. Crews discovered a full subsurface collapse with an open void on the runway surface.
Workers flagged the sinkhole and pulled the runway offline within minutes. Controllers then placed a large illuminated X at the runway threshold — the universal signal to pilots that the surface is unusable. Air traffic control audio captured pilots reacting with surprise when controllers announced the closure.
“Ground, uh, what happened to Runway 4/22?” one pilot asked.
“There’s a sinkhole,” the controller replied.
“Part of the construction project?” the pilot continued.
“I think that’s safe to assume that.”
Ground-Penetrating Radar Finds More Trouble Beneath the Surface
Emergency engineering crews deployed to the scene Wednesday, and the Port Authority initially expected to reopen Runway 4/22 by Thursday. That deadline slipped. Then Friday. Now the target is 6 a.m. Saturday.
The delays trace to what inspectors found when they brought in ground-penetrating radar on Thursday. The radar revealed additional areas of subsurface concern — voids and instabilities invisible from the surface. Left unaddressed, those anomalies could pose a hazard to aircraft operations.
“Out of an abundance of caution, engineering crews are conducting additional inspections that necessitate the continued closure of Runway 4/22,” the Port Authority said in an official statement Friday. “Crews expect to complete those surveys and any associated repairs by 6 a.m. on Saturday, at which time the runway is expected to reopen.”
Memorial Day Timing Amplifies the Disruption
LaGuardia operates just two runways. With one out of service, the airport effectively runs at half capacity — and every delay compounds across the Northeast corridor.
The timing is devastating. Memorial Day weekend is consistently the highest-traffic travel period of the year. New York–area airports feed flights throughout the eastern seaboard, and any LGA constraint ripples into Boston, Washington, and beyond.
LaGuardia scrubbed 51 flights on Thursday alone. Hundreds more suffered delays or cancellations Wednesday when the sinkhole first surfaced. Travelers described rebooked itineraries that were then canceled again, last-minute hotel searches, and families split onto separate departures.
“Delta warned us at 9:30 p.m. last night. They canceled our flight, and, yeah, it was terrible. We lost the whole day,” Lee Weinberg of Ossining told CBS News New York after finally departing Thursday.
Cause Remains Under Investigation
The Port Authority has not confirmed what caused the subsurface collapse. Investigators are examining multiple possibilities. Among them: whether an ongoing fuel line tunneling project beneath the airfield contributed to ground instability.
Runway 4/22 has drawn scrutiny before — it is the same surface involved in a deadly Air Canada aircraft accident in March 2026. Its continued closure is now drawing fresh attention to airfield infrastructure maintenance practices at the airport. The incident also fits a broader pattern: major U.S. airports face growing safety scrutiny, including a $10 million federal claim filed against Denver International Airport over a runway fatality attributed to preventable safety failures.
No FAA NOTAM or regulatory action beyond the closure itself has been publicly announced. The Port Authority expects to provide an update by early Saturday morning. Whether the runway will reopen in time for Memorial Day departures remains uncertain.
Travelers with LaGuardia flights this weekend are advised to check with their airlines directly before arriving at the airport.
Sources
- LaGuardia Airport (@LGAairport) — Official runway closure and repair update (May 22, 2026)
- WABC / ABC7 New York — “Port Authority estimates LaGuardia Airport runway will reopen Friday amid sinkhole repairs” (May 21, 2026)
- CBS News New York — “LaGuardia Airport runway closed by sinkhole expected to reopen Saturday” (May 22, 2026)
- WLOS / The National News Desk — “Sinkhole at LaGuardia keeps runway closed ahead of Memorial Day travel rush” (May 22, 2026)
- WGME / The National News Desk — “Sinkhole shuts down busy LaGuardia Airport runway, causing delays and cancellations” (May 20, 2026)
