LaGuardia Flights Resume After Electric Blast Turns NYC Sky Blue
The light could be seen from Manhattan after 9 p.m. following a “brief electrical fire” in the Northern Queens neighborhood.
(Bloomberg) -- Flights from New York’s LaGuardia airport were operating normally Friday after some were delayed or diverted overnight because of an explosion at an electrical substation that temporarily cut off power.
Delays at LaGuardia amid rainy weather were no worse than at the two other major New York-area hubs, John F. Kennedy International Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport, according to data compiled by FlightAware.
The explosion in the Astoria neighborhood of Queens illuminated the skyline with a bright blue light. The glow could be seen from Manhattan shortly after 9 p.m. Thursday following a “brief electrical fire” at the facility in the Northern Queens neighborhood, said Bob McGee, a spokesman for utility Consolidated Edison Inc.
LaGuardia had to switch to backup generators during the blackout. Power has since been restored but not before Delta Air Lines Inc. and American Airlines diverted some of their flights to nearby airports.
The blue light prompted a wave of commentary on social media, with New Yorkers joking about its origins. It’s “*Not* aliens,” tweeted Eric Phillips, a spokesman for Mayor Bill de Blasio.
“There was a brief electrical fire at our substation on 20th Avenue & 32nd Street in Astoria this evening, which caused a transmission dip,” Con Ed tweeted. “All power lines serving the area are in service and the system is stable.” The company said it’s investigating the cause of the blaze.
--With assistance from Stephen Stapczynski and Brendan Case.
To contact the reporters on this story: Kyunghee Park in Singapore at kpark3@bloomberg.net;John Harney in Washington at jharney2@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Kenneth Wong at kwong11@bloomberg.net, Thomas Pfeiffer, Christopher Jasper
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