LaGuardia Airport briefly closed Runway 4/22 on June 18 after inspectors found an approximately two-inch pavement depression near the runway, shifting traffic to Runway 13/31 and causing delays. The closure came less than a month after a sinkhole shutdown in the same area.
LaGuardia Airport briefly shut Runway 4/22 again on June 18 after inspectors found an approximately two-inch pavement depression adjacent to the runway, the latest in a series of pavement problems at the airport.
The airport said the closure was precautionary and did not pose an immediate safety concern. Operations were shifted to LaGuardia's other main runway, 13/31, while crews planned overnight repairs, testing and any needed stabilization work.
Passengers were advised to check with their airlines for the latest flight status.
Second runway problem in weeks
The new closure came less than a month after the same runway area was closed in May 2026, when inspectors found a sinkhole near Runway 4/22. That earlier shutdown also raised concerns about delays and cancellations at one of New York's busiest airports.
The repeated issues have renewed questions about whether the same section of pavement has a deeper structural problem.
Travel impact
LaGuardia relies heavily on its two primary runways, so even a short closure can quickly ripple through the schedule. Reports on June 18 cited delays, including an average arrival delay of 48 minutes and 174 delays earlier in the day.
The airport said it planned to keep monitoring the area and determine the cause of the depression before returning to normal operations.
What happens next
The key question is whether the overnight work restored full operations on schedule and whether officials identify a recurring engineering cause for the repeated pavement failures. The Port Authority and federal regulators had not immediately provided further technical details in the material reviewed for this report.
Revision note
Initial automated publication.