New York, Boston airports open again

NEW YORK - New York’s three regional airports opened for business again Monday evening after a record blizzard dumped more than 50 cm of snow on the region and shut down transport.

The Federal Aviation Administration said that departure delays were about 15 minutes at John F. Kennedy, Laguardia and Newark airports. The major Boston airport was also open again.

Arriving flights at Philadelphia airport had delays of two hours or more, the FAA said. Limited train service was moving again, while snowplows struggled to clear major road arteries.

The storm whipped through the North-East from Sunday to Monday, stranding tens of thousands of travellers trying to return home after the Christmas holiday. Elizabeth, New Jersey, just south of Newark, was covered by one of the highest depths of 81 cm.

More than 6,000 flights were cancelled during the 24-hour blizzard. Wind gusts of more than 110 km per hour continued to play havoc with snow-clearing efforts.

The snowfall was the fifth-largest on record for New York, according to Sanitation Commissioner John Doherty who spoke at a news conference. It dumped more snow on New York than any previous December total.