Weather delays arrivals, takeoffs at area airports

A dose of heavy morning snow and cold, wet weather were giving New York City and surrounding airports a few minor problems Tuesday, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

Ground delay programs are in effect for arriving flights at LaGuardia and Newark Liberty International Airport, the FAA said Tuesday morning at its Web site, FAA.gov.

Snow and ice were causing some arriving flights at LaGuardia to be delayed an average of 69 minutes.

At Newark International, the weather and low cloud cover caused delays of nearly 90 minutes for arriving flights.

FAA spokesman Jim Peters said such traffic management programs are common on days of adverse weather and visibility. The delay programs are implemented when projected traffic is expected to exceed an airport's acceptance rate for an extended period of time, he said.

Kennedy Airport was experiencing general arrival and departure delays of 15 minutes for most flights, the FAA said.

At MacArthur Airport in Ronkonkoma, gate holds and taxi delays are delaying departures about 15 minutes or less. Arrivals also are experiencing similar delays.