Westbury radar center evacuated, flights delayed

Authorities say a Westbury radar facility that handles all arrivals and departures for New York City’s three major airports was briefly evacuated after the smell of gas was reported.

Flights were being delayed.

Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Jim Peters says the facility in Westbury was evacuated as a precaution at about 6:45 p.m. Wednesday. Twenty-five traffic controllers remained behind.

He says other staff members were cleared to return about an hour later. Firefighters and staff were unable to determine the origin of the odor.

But he says the evacuation led to residual delays at LaGuardia, Kennedy and Newark airports. The FAA’s website says departures at LaGuardia were delayed up to an hour.

It wasn’t immediately clear how many flights were affected.