Kuwait Airways plane involved in New York airport collision

Kuwait Airways flight 118 was involved in a minor collision on the tarmac at New York City’s John F Kennedy Airport on Saturday as it prepared to head back to Kuwait City just after midnight on Sunday, reports Arabian Business.

The Boeing 777 was stationary as it awaited clearance to take off when its tail was clipped by the right wing of a China Southern plane, causing damage to both aircraft.

According to the New York’s Port Authority, the passengers and crew of the Kuwait-bound plane were unhurt. They were transferred to a hotel while alternative flights were being arranged. An investigation is now underway to determine the cause of the collision.

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It was just one of a series of issues facing New York’s principal international airport over the weekend as bitter cold gripped the North East of the United States. A succession of flights had been cancelled and thousands of passengers stranded before the incident, adding to a tense situation in a terminal that had already seen scuffles and hours-long waits at baggage claim to retrieve belongings.

“The winter storm has severely disabled equipment, resulting in terminal operators and airlines experiencing delays in getting planes and their passengers into their gates,” said an official statement from the Port Authority, which manages all three of the major airports serving New York City.

The Port Authority was trying to limit flights into JFK until there were sufficient gates to cope with the increasing backlog. Delays were expected throughout Sunday.

The incident comes a day after a collision on the runway at Toronto Airport between WestJet and Sunwing planes in which the latter caught fire.

Here's Kuwait Airways' official statement.

الأجهزة المعنية بالتحقيق بالحادث للوقوف على أسبابه بالتنسيق مع الجهات المعنية في مطار نيويوك كما نشيد بالتعاون والتنسيق المستمر مع الأخوة في الادارة العامة للطيران المدني بهذا الخصوص ..

— Kuwait Airways (@KuwaitAirways) January 6, 2018

مع الحادث بحسب اللوائح والإجراءات المنظمة لسلامة الطيران التشغيلية الدولية مؤكدين سلامة جميع الركاب وطاقم الطائرة من أي إصابات وعليه فقد تم نقل جميع الركاب إلى الفنادق وجاري العمل على توفير خطوط طيران أخرى لنقلهم لوجهاتهم المحددة وفي هذا الصدد باشرت الأجهزة المعنية -٢

— Kuwait Airways (@KuwaitAirways) January 6, 2018