Flights coming in and out of JFK were delayed on Friday and Saturday thanks to turtles crossing the runway. Nothing get’s in the way of love, at least not for these amorous amphibians.
It’s that classic tale, boy meets girl, boy abandons girl to swim in the ocean, girl crosses an airport runway to lay eggs on the other side …we’ve seen it a million times. (If you didn’t read that first line with a healthy dose of sarcasm, then you can probably just stop reading here)
Why did the turtles cross the runway? To lay eggs on the other side! …or at least that was the story this weekend when dozens of diamondback terrapins delayed inbound and outbound flights at JFK Airport. Of course, passengers had more than just a little to say about it.
My flight has been delayed on JFK because of turtle crossing. I guess Ninja Turtles have arrived in New York
— Mostafa Salah (@Mooose22) July 8, 2017
A source very familiar with the situation tells me a plane is currently stopped on the tarmac at JFK due to turtles on the runway.
— Jennifer Bendery (@jbendery) July 7, 2017
Apparently there are TURTLES on the runway at JFK causing our delay to deplane ??
— sarah mcc (@unsarah) July 7, 2017
A spokesperson for the Port Authority told NYDailyNews: “There were planes briefly stuck in queue, […] It is turtle season here, but it was a little unusual to get the turtles at this time.”
The turtles abandon their homes in Jamaica Bay to make the yearly trek across the hazardous runway to lay their eggs. Why don’t they lay their eggs in Jamaica Bay? Well, these NYers just seem to prefer the sand that lines the runway. The Port Authority went so far as to install plastic tubing to stop the turtles crossing back in 2013, but thanks to high tide the critters just swim right over into the airport.
Apparently, there’s no stopping these lovelorn turtles, but at least we can be thankful they aren’t the teenage mutant ninja variety.
Featured image source [twitter | Daniel Schneider]