LaGuardia Airport Sinkhole Shuts Down Runway — What Long Island Travelers Need to Know

Two NYC sinkholes in one day: LaGuardia Runway 4/22 closed and a school bus with 39 kids trapped in the Bronx. Expect flight delays, cancellations, and increased road traffic for Long Island commuters.

Updated May 20, 2026

Dr. Dao Yuan Han Data Editor & Lead Analyst

MAJOR INCIDENT

Reported: May 20, 2026 at 5:30 PM EDT
Source: Editorial

Breaking — May 20, 2026. A sinkhole discovered near Runway 4/22 at LaGuardia Airport during a routine morning inspection has shut down one of the airport’s two runways. The closure is expected to last until at least Thursday morning, with significant delays and cancellations already underway. Thunderstorms forecast for Wednesday evening may compound disruptions.

What Happened

At approximately 11:00 AM on Wednesday, May 20, 2026, crews conducting the daily morning inspection of LaGuardia Airport’s airfield discovered a sinkhole near Runway 4/22 — one of only two runways at the airport.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates LGA, confirmed the closure on X: “The runway was immediately shut down, and emergency construction and engineering crews are onsite to determine the cause and complete necessary repairs as quickly and safely as possible.”

The FAA reported that by 3:00 PM, arriving flights were delayed an average of 1 hour and 37 minutes due to a combination of the runway closure and approaching thunderstorms. ABC News reports the runway is expected to remain closed until Thursday morning.

Why LaGuardia Is Vulnerable

LaGuardia sits on land that was reclaimed from Flushing Bay in the 1930s — originally the site of homes, hotels, and the Gala Amusement Park. The airport’s foundation is built on fill material over marshy ground, which is inherently less stable than bedrock.

This matters because airports globally are increasingly challenged by uneven ground subsidence. A 2025 study published in AGU’s Earth and Space Science journal found that approximately 3.5 million square meters of runway surface worldwide is experiencing significant sinking, with nearly 14,000 square meters at high risk of structural damage. San Francisco International Airport was found to be sinking the fastest.

The closure comes less than two months after Air Canada Flight 2259 struck a Port Authority fire truck on the same runway on March 24, 2026 — an unrelated incident that killed both pilots. That collision raised questions about ground operations safety at LGA. Today’s sinkhole adds infrastructure integrity to the growing list of concerns at the aging airport.

Impact on Long Island Travelers

LaGuardia Airport handles approximately 15.7 million passengers annually (2025 figures) and is the primary domestic airport for Long Island residents, particularly those in western Nassau County and the Queens border communities.

Immediate Impacts

Flight cancellations and delays — With one of two runways closed, LGA’s capacity is effectively halved. Airlines are canceling flights and rebooking passengers. Check your airline’s app or website directly.
Ground traffic surge — Travelers rerouting to JFK International Airport from LGA will increase traffic on the Grand Central Parkway, Van Wyck Expressway, Belt Parkway, and connecting routes from Long Island including the Cross Island Parkway and LIE (I-495).
Rideshare demand spike — Uber and Lyft surge pricing is expected as airport pickups shift and demand increases for JFK transfers.
Thursday morning commute — If repairs extend past the overnight window, Thursday’s morning rush could see continued disruptions for airport-bound travelers and general traffic approaching Queens.

What to Do If You Have a Flight from LGA

Check your flight status directly with your airline — not third-party trackers. Airlines are rebooking affected passengers.
If rerouting to JFK: Add at least 45–60 minutes to your normal drive time from Long Island. The Belt Parkway eastbound and Van Wyck southbound will be heavier than usual.
Consider LIRR to Jamaica Station → AirTrain to JFK as an alternative if you’re heading to JFK. This avoids the highway congestion entirely.
If driving to LGA anyway: The airport’s Terminal B and Terminal C remain open and accessible. Only the airfield operations on Runway 4/22 are affected — you can still reach the terminals for departing flights that haven’t been canceled.

The Broader Infrastructure Question

Today’s sinkhole is the latest in a string of incidents raising questions about New York-area airport infrastructure:

March 24, 2026 — Air Canada Flight 2259 strikes a Port Authority fire truck on LGA Runway 4/22, killing both pilots
February 2026 — Multiple drone incursion incidents at Newark Liberty International forced temporary closures
2025 — LGA completed a $8 billion terminal renovation, but runway and taxiway infrastructure dates to the 1960s-era last major reconstruction

The Port Authority is responsible for maintaining LaGuardia, JFK, Newark Liberty, Teterboro, and Stewart International airports. Infrastructure age and the geologic challenges of LGA’s reclaimed-land foundation create ongoing maintenance demands that surface in events like today’s sinkhole.

Second NYC Sinkhole: School Bus With 39 Children Trapped in the Bronx

In a striking coincidence, just hours after the LaGuardia runway closure, a school bus carrying 39 children and 4 adults got stuck in a separate sinkhole on East 180th Street in the Bronx after a tire sank into the ground. Emergency responders controlled traffic while a heavy-duty tow truck was called in to extract the bus. No injuries were reported.

The Bronx incident, captured on video and shared by @Breaking911 (62K+ views, 598 likes), shows the yellow school bus tilted at an angle with its rear tire partially swallowed by the collapsed street surface — caution tape and traffic cones surrounding the scene.

Two sinkholes in two boroughs in a single day raises serious questions about the state of New York City’s subsurface infrastructure — aging water mains, century-old sewer systems, and the geological challenges of building on fill and glacial deposits. For Long Island commuters who transit through Queens and the Bronx daily, these incidents are a reminder that the roads and runways connecting the region are only as strong as what’s underneath them.

What Happens Next

Emergency construction and engineering crews are working to determine the LaGuardia sinkhole’s cause — likely related to subsurface water movement, fill material settlement, or utility infrastructure failure beneath the runway surface. Repairs are expected to be completed overnight, with the runway targeted to reopen Thursday morning, May 21.

Thunderstorms forecast for Wednesday evening may complicate repair efforts and cause additional delays beyond the sinkhole closure itself.

Long Island Traffic will update this article as the situation develops.

Sources

Topics

LaGuardia sinkhole airport flight delays Long Island travel Queens Bronx Port Authority infrastructure school bus NYC infrastructure LaGuardia sinkhole

Frequently Asked Questions

What should I do if I'm in a car accident on Long Island?

Call 911 immediately if anyone is injured or if the vehicles can't be moved safely off the roadway. Stay at the scene — leaving the scene of an accident with injuries is a crime under New York Vehicle and Traffic Law §600. Exchange license, registration, and insurance information with every other driver involved. Take photographs of every vehicle, the position of the vehicles before they're moved, all license plates, the road surface, traffic signs, and any visible injuries. Get the names and phone numbers of every witness — police often won't capture bystander witnesses on their own. Seek medical attention within 24 hours even if you feel fine; soft-tissue injuries and concussions can take a day or two to present, and a delayed medical visit weakens an injury claim. In Nassau County, NCPD responds outside of incorporated villages. In Suffolk County, SCPD covers the five western towns; East End towns have their own forces. New York State Police Troop L responds to accidents on state highways across both counties.

How long do I have to file a no-fault claim in New York?

Thirty days. New York Insurance Law §5102 requires you to file a Personal Injury Protection (PIP/no-fault) application with the insurer of the vehicle you were in (or, if you were a pedestrian or cyclist, with the insurer of the striking vehicle) within 30 days of the accident. Missing the 30-day deadline can void your no-fault benefits — that's up to $50,000 in medical bills and 80% of lost wages (capped at $2,000/month) per injured person. The form is the NF-2 application; your insurance carrier provides it on request. New York no-fault is a true PIP system: it pays regardless of who caused the crash.

What counts as a "serious injury" under New York law?

Under Insurance Law §5102(d), a "serious injury" is one that meets at least one of these categories: (1) death; (2) dismemberment; (3) significant disfigurement; (4) a fracture; (5) loss of a fetus; (6) permanent loss of use of a body organ, member, function, or system; (7) permanent consequential limitation of use of a body organ or member; (8) significant limitation of use of a body function or system; or (9) a medically determined injury that prevents the injured person from performing substantially all daily activities for at least 90 of the first 180 days following the accident. Only injuries that meet one of these nine categories create the right to sue the at-fault driver for pain and suffering damages — short of that threshold, recovery is limited to no-fault PIP benefits. Disputes over whether an injury meets the threshold are the single most-litigated issue in NY motor-vehicle cases.

How long do I have to sue after a Long Island car accident?

Three years from the date of the accident for personal injury claims under CPLR §214(5). Wrongful death claims have a two-year deadline under EPTL §5-4.1. If a government entity is involved (a county vehicle, a road defect on a state highway, a defective traffic signal, a county bus), you must file a Notice of Claim within 90 days under General Municipal Law §50-e — that's a non-negotiable jurisdictional deadline, and missing it usually bars the claim entirely. Property-damage-only claims have the same three-year clock. The clock starts on the day of the accident, not the day you discover the full extent of an injury.

Can I still recover compensation if I was partly at fault?

Yes. New York is a pure comparative negligence state under CPLR §1411. Even if you were 90% at fault, you can still recover 10% of your damages. (A pending 2026 budget proposal would change this to a 51% bar — meaning a plaintiff who is more than 50% at fault would recover nothing — but that hasn't passed.) Insurance carriers routinely try to inflate the injured driver's percentage of fault to reduce payouts. The percentage assignment is decided by the jury at trial (or negotiated during settlement); it isn't fixed by the police accident report and isn't binding even when the report assigns fault. Reporting practice and the actual legal apportionment are separate questions.

How do I get a copy of the police accident report?

If local police responded to the scene, the report is filed under an MV-104A form. In New York State, you can request a copy through the DMV at https://dmv.ny.gov/vehicle-safety/get-copy-accident-report (roughly $7 online, $10 by mail) once the responding agency has uploaded it to the state system, which usually takes 5-10 business days. NCPD and SCPD also have their own direct-request processes through the precinct that responded. If you weren't injured but the property damage exceeded $1,000, New York VTL §605 requires you (the driver) to file your own MV-104 report with the DMV within 10 days regardless of whether police responded.

Disclaimer: Incident information on this page is compiled from public sources including police reports, traffic agencies, and news outlets. It is provided for informational purposes only and may not reflect the most current status of this incident. Do not rely on this information for legal, insurance, or emergency decisions. For emergencies, call 911.