New York: flight operations at JF Kennedy airport impacted after major power outage

A power outage at New York's John F Kennedy International Airport stretched into a second day Friday, stranding passengers and forcing flights to be canceled or diverted to other airports.

The airport operators said in a tweet late Thursday that Terminal 1, the international terminal, would remain closed Friday “due to electrical issues." They advised travelers to check with their carriers for flight status before coming to the airport.

The outage was caused by an electrical panel failure that led to a small fire, airport operators said. The fire was quickly extinguished.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which runs New York's major airports, said it was working to accommodate affected flights at other terminals. Some planes were forced to return to their points of origin.

An Air New Zealand flight was two-thirds of the way across the Pacific Ocean when it had to make a U-turn and head back to Auckland. The flight landed back in New Zealand after more than 16 hours in the air.

No update on the outage was provided Friday by the Port Authority.