Turtle chaos: terrapins delay flights at JFK

Slow-moving turtles interrupt airport’s flight schedule as they cross runway to reach seasonal breeding grounds Air traffic at the busiest airport in the United States has been disrupted after a group of turtles wandered on to the runway in search of a sandy beach to lay their eggs. The turtles began their stately passage across Kennedy airport in New York on Wednesday morning, undeterred by the potentially lethal obstacles which stand in the way of them and their seasonal breeding grounds. The creatures caused chaos at the airport delaying flights, shutting down a runway and forcing staff outside to hurry the slow-moving animals to safer ground. Runway 4L was shut down for an hour as Port Authority teams worked to move the animals, the New York Post reported . “We may have a few delays, but nothing significant,” said FAA spokeswoman Arlene Salac. Several pilots had to deal with the unexpected obstacles, just as rush hour was starting at JFK, a radio recording on LiveATC.net revealed. “Be advised 30 feet into the takeoff roll, left side of the centreline, there’s another turtle,” warned the pilot of American Airlines Flight 1009, a Boeing 767 that had just taken off for the Dominican Republic. “There’s another one on the runway?” asked the controller. “Uh, well he was there,” the pilot said as the plane climbed into the air. JetBlue reported the turtle migration on Twitter around 9:40 a.m. “Running over turtles is not healthy for them nor is it good for our tires,” the airline said. The migration of diamondback terrapin turtles happens every year at Kennedy, reported the Boston Globe . The airport is situated on the edge of Jamaica Bay and a protected natural area. In late June or early July every year the animals heave themselves out of the bay and head toward a beach to lay their eggs. “The sandy spot on the other side of Runway 4L is ideal for egg laying,” PA spokesman John Kelly said. “It is a naturally provided turtle maternity ward. When your airport is virtually surrounded by water, your neighbours sometimes come in the hard shell variety.” In 2009 the call of mother nature proved too much for the airport, which had to be shut down briefly after at least 78 turtles left Jamaica Bay and made their way on to the runway. Staff managed to finally remove the creatures from the runway but only after the slow-moving turtles managed to slow the airport to their pace – interrupting the flight schedule and causing delays of nearly two hours. Animals New York Air transport United States Alexandra Topping guardian.co.uk

Posted by on June 30, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.