Washington, Jan 4

 Some 1,000 flights were cancelled at all three airports in the New York area Friday morning due to a strong winter storm that has dumped several inches of snow in the region.

By 5:30 Friday afternoon, 559 flights scheduled to depart from and 452 flights heading for the three New York airports were cancelled, according to statistics from flight aware website, Xinhua reported.

Since 6 a.m., 192 cancellations have been reported at the John F. Kennedy International (JFK) Airport, 285 at Newark Liberty International Airport, and 271 at LaGuardia Airport, according to figures released earlier by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

Port authority staff have been working in adverse weather conditions to get JFK's runway 13L-31R back in service. Flight operations have resumed at JFK after zero visibility and high winds forced the suspension of operations Friday morning. Crews continue to work to get the airport's three other runways back in operation as quickly as possible.

AirTrain JFK is operating with limited service. Although both Newark and LaGuardia airports are open, service on AirTrain Newark is suspended and bus service is being provided at both airports.

Travellers are strongly urged to confirm flight times, departures and arrivals with the airline carriers before travelling to the airports.

By:IANS