Power outages hit New York subway, airport

NEW YORK - Searing summer heat wreaked havoc on travel plans for New Yorkers today as power outages shut parts of LaGuardia International Airport and the city's subway system during the morning rush hour.

Terminals of American Airlines, Delta Airlines and the Marine Terminal were without full power, said a spokesman for Consolidated Edison, which delivers power to LaGuardia, the closest major airport to Manhattan.

Con Ed had not determined when the power would be back at LaGuardia.

Feeder power cables to northwest Queens, the New York borough where LaGuardia is located, were being repaired, said Con Ed spokesman Chris Olert. "There is partial power to LaGuardia Airport. We're working to get them back on."

By mid-morning, Delta had canceled eight flights bound for Boston or Washington, a spokesman for the airline said, adding that it was unclear when service would resume.

American Airlines said it had canceled 13 flights from LaGuardia and re-routed some inbound flights to nearby airports in New York and New Jersey.

With temperatures at about 33.9 degC, Con Ed urged New York customers to conserve power and asked those working in office buildings to turn off unneeded equipment and air conditioning units in unoccupied conference rooms.

Also, a power failure stopped trains on the west side of Manhattan, and in the borough of Brooklyn, said New York City Transit.

The trains were stopped for part of the rush-hour commute because signals were off without the power.

Subway service had returned to normal by late morning. Some riders were stuck inside trains for up to an hour without air-conditioning while the problems were worked on.

On Monday, a power failure stalled a subway train in Queens, leaving dozens of passengers stranded in the summer heat on an elevated track for nearly two hours.

The city's subway system carries 4.7 million passengers on a typical weekday.

New Yorkers have been on alert during this week's heat wave, fearing a repeat of the massive 2003 blackout.

Con Ed said about 5,000 customers in northwest Queens and Westchester County north of New York City were without power on Tuesday morning.

- REUTERS