The winter storm that plagued the East Coast forced the world’s largest passenger jet – an Airbus A380 – to divert to Stewart International, a small New York airport about 80 miles north of its intended destination: John F. Kennedy International Airport.
Singapore Airlines Flight 26, a 325-passenger jet flying fromFrankfurt, Germany, was an unusual sight at Stewart International when it landed there at around 1 p.m. on Thursday. Although at 11,800 feet, the runway was long enough to accommodate the A380, the airport’s gates were not high enough to reach the plane’s doors, CNBC reports. A passenger told the television channel that passengers had to exit the plane using outdoor stairs.
Winter Storm Grayson, the blizzard that caused heavy snow, coastal flooding and treacherous travel conditions along the East Coast, has led to the cancellation of more than 3,300 flights and more than a thousand other flights being delayed. Travel headaches are particularly severe Thursday in New York and Boston, according to FlightAware’s MiseryMap.
Major airlines including Delta, JetBlue, United and American Airlines have been helping customers out by waiving normal flight change fees, in many cases. If you’re among the unlucky travelers dealing with cancelations, here’s a detailed list of what you can do to get your money back.
Although Stewart International, in New York’s Hudson Valley, is usually home to much smaller passenger jets than the A380 (wingspan 262 feet), it’s seen it’s share of jumbo planes. The New York Air National Guard’s 105th Airlift Wing flew massive C-5 Galaxy military transports (wingspan 222 feet) out of the airport until switching to the slightly smaller C-17 Globemaster III in recent years.