This article from NYTimes.com has been sent to you by psa188@xxxxxxxxx /-------------------- advertisement -----------------------\ Explore more of Starbucks at Starbucks.com. http://www.starbucks.com/default.asp?ci=1015 \----------------------------------------------------------/ Blackout Problems Linger for Travelers August 15, 2003 By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Filed at 7:55 p.m. ET WASHINGTON (AP) -- Lingering power outages grounded airplanes and halted trains Friday, a day after a massive blackout in the eastern United States and southern Canada snarled transportation systems. Hundreds of flights were canceled or delayed. The airports in New York, Cleveland, Detroit, Newark, N.J., Toronto and Ottawa were hardest hit. Amtrak train service from Washington to Boston was disrupted, and traffic was tied up in areas where stop lights remained out. Two European women who had worked as camp counselors in Maine spent Thursday night in a terminal at Newark Liberty International Airport. Claire Tierney, 21, of Galway, Ireland, and her friend, Sophie Alcock, 20, of Nannerch, Wales, awoke Friday to learn their flight to San Francisco was delayed 26 hours. Nakisha Nesmith, 24, of Los Angeles, flew on Friday morning from Brazil. Her plane was diverted to Newark from New York's John F. Kennedy Airport, and she missed her connection to the West Coast. ``We have no idea when we're leaving,'' Nesmith said. At New York's LaGuardia and Kennedy airports and in Detroit passengers faced longer security lines because metal detectors and X-ray and explosive-detection machines were without power. Travelers were screened for weapons with hand-held wands, and their luggage was searched by hand. All of Kennedy and most of LaGuardia were operating on emergency power, said William DeCota, aviation director for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Newark is operating normally. American Airlines said it hoped to resume service at Kennedy and LaGuardia by Friday evening and in Detroit on Saturday. American was among airlines hardest hit by the blackout, with 400 flights canceled by late Friday. Its commuter airline, American Eagle, canceled 93 flights on Friday. When the blackout hit Thursday, American halted operations at 11 airports in the northeast United States and Canada and diverted about 30 flights away from the Northeast, mostly planes from the Caribbean, Latin America and Europe. Air Canada suspended all of its operations for about nine hours Friday because of power problems at its operations control center in Ontario. Flight operations were back to normal by late afternoon. Travelers were urged to call their airline or go online to check the status of their fight before heading to the airport. The Transportation Security Administration advised travelers to arrive at least two hours before the scheduled departure. Amtrak ran fewer trains between Washington and New York's Penn Station and limited service to Upstate New York. Train service out of Boston was to resume Friday night with the departure of the 10 p.m. ``Federal'' to Washington, the company said. Amtrak had previously restored train travel into and out of New York City. ``We expect full, normal service (Saturday) in the Northeast,'' Amtrak spokesman Cliff Black said. New York City's subways were out of service for the morning rush hour, but the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey ran its trains under the Hudson River into Manhattan from New Jersey. There was limited service into the city from Long Island. Dan Weiss, a stockbroker from Mount Vernon, N.Y., was one of four people waiting for a commuter train that wasn't coming. ``I thought I'd give it my best effort,'' he said. ``This way I can tell them I tried. If a train comes, it comes. If not I go home.'' New York City's bridges and tunnels were open, but bus service was running at about 25 percent of normal capacity and some traffic lights still did not work by mid-afternoon Friday. In Michigan, the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel reopened after being closed when the power went out. Traffic congestion was a problem in some areas. ``Everywhere you go, the traffic's all backed up,'' said Brian Howse, a production supervisor from Redford Township, Mich. Traffic was lighter than usual in Cleveland, with many workers getting an unexpected day off. But darkened traffic lights caused some tie-ups on freeway ramps and intersections for those who did go to work. ``I have no water and no lights, so I might as well come to work,'' attorney Lori Zocolo said. ^------ On the Net: FAA real-time flight delays: http://www.fly.faa.gov Amtrak: http://www.amtrak.com http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Blackout-Transportation.html?ex=1061997846&ei=1&en=ab1e36ed62e5b7a9 --------------------------------- Get Home Delivery of The New York Times Newspaper. Imagine reading The New York Times any time & anywhere you like! Leisurely catch up on events & expand your horizons. Enjoy now for 50% off Home Delivery! Click here: http://www.nytimes.com/ads/nytcirc/index.html HOW TO ADVERTISE --------------------------------- For information on advertising in e-mail newsletters or other creative advertising opportunities with The New York Times on the Web, please contact onlinesales@xxxxxxxxxxx or visit our online media kit at http://www.nytimes.com/adinfo For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@xxxxxxxxxxxx Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company