International flights to JFK airport reduced amid backlog
There is a backlog of flights following the Thursday snowstorm.
— -- Harsh weather forced a "surge" of rescheduled flights that ultimately knocked out equipment at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York this afternoon, stranding several international jets and their passengers.
In a statement, The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Saturday evening stated that they, along with the FAA, are "limiting some flights into JFK" and all international arrivals into the airport's Terminal 1.
The agency added that they ramped up staffing and begun utilizing shuttle buses "to bring passengers experiencing delays back to the terminals."
They blame a combination of the epic winter storm ravaging the East Coast disabling equipment and the resulting rescheduled "delayed flights."
It all "resulted in terminal operators and airlines experiencing delays in getting planes and their passengers into their gates," according to the statement.
The agency stressed that they are working to get passengers affected by the conditions to their destinations.
"The Port Authority intends to aggressively review with its partners, the terminal operators and airlines, the process to assure that planes and passengers get to their gates during the surge of rescheduled flights that follow a severe weather event.
But given the extreme cold and the amount of rescheduled flights -- the situation isn't expected to let up.
"The continued bitter cold and resulting ground equipment issues are expected to continue delays into the evening," the statement read.
Earlier in the day at least 12 international flights were waiting for a gate at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York this afternoon, according to Flightradar24, amid a backlog of flights following the powerful snowstorm that tore through the Northeast Thursday.
Flightradar24 -- a flight tracking website -- also said over 70 planes have been parked at JFK between 6 and 48 hours.
Originally, The Port Authority put out a statement claiming it was working with airlines, terminal operators and the Federal Aviation Administration "to limit the arrival of flights into JFK Airport until there are adequate gates available to handle the backlog of flights due to recovery of flight schedules after Thursday’s storm."
Frustrated travelers were posting on social media from inside JFK, showing the crowds of people waiting for flights.
One traveler posted that the storm "delayed my trip by three days! Now at JFK, it’s a sea of people trying to rebook, checking bags, sleeping everywhere."
"Total chaos post bombcyclone," another traveler wrote.
ABC News' Jeff Cook, Josh Hoyos, Alexandra Faul, and M.L. Nestel contributed to this report.
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