Turtles On JFK Runway Prompt Flight Delays

Hundreds of diamond back turtles caused traffic woes at JFK Airport Wednesday after they clogged up a runway, preventing planes from taking off on time. (PORT AUTHORITY / June 29, 2011)

By SEBASTIAN FORCE pix11.com

8:49 a.m. PDT, June 29, 2011

 

NEW YORK (PIX11)—

Travelers who were looking to fly out of John F. Kennedy Airport Wednesday morning were treated to a unique delay, when 100 turtles ambled across a runway and blocked air traffic from moving.

JetBlue first tweeted news of the delays, with the hashtag #cantmakethisup.

When airport personnel grew tired of waiting for the notoriously slow reptiles to clear the runway, Port Authority officials took matters into their own hands, physically removing the turtles from the route.

The purpotrators have since been identified as Diamondback Terrapin turtles, as opposed to the snapping turtle which was named the New York state reptile in 2006.

The turtle gathering is apparently an annual event, where they take over runway 4L. The Port Authority was forced to discontinue using 4L for the early part of the day while some reconfiguration of the runways were done.