Canada wildfire smoke disrupts US air travel

New York's LaGuardia airport and New Jersey's Newark airport both experiencing delays

A Southwest plane approaches LaGuardia Airport in New York. AP

Air travel in and out of New York was expected to be disrupted for a second consecutive day on Thursday as smoke from Canada's wildfires continued to envelop the Big Apple.

The Federal Aviation Administration said that reduced visibility from wildfire smoke would continue to affect air travel.

“We will likely need to take steps to manage the flow of traffic safely into New York City, DC, Philadelphia and Charlotte,” the agency said.

The FAA issued a ground delay at LaGuardia Airport, with departures set to take off 54 minutes later than scheduled, on average, throughout the day because of poor visibility.

All flights from the north-eastern part of the country and Ohio as well as mid-Atlantic bound flights were paused, the FAA said.

There were 230 delays into or out of LaGuardia as of 11.30am EST on Thursday, according to FlightAware.com. The airport experienced 529 delays and 38 cancellations on Wednesday.

New York continued to suffer from poor air quality on Thursday as smoke from the Canadian wildfires blanketed the eastern US.

The city's Air Quality Index was at 222 as of Thursday morning. A measure of between 151 and 200 is considered unhealthy and a score above 200 is very unhealthy.

The FAA also paused all nationwide flights bound for New Jersey's Newark Airport.

Meanwhile, a ground stop at Philadelphia International Airport was lifted after the FAA imposed one earlier in the morning. The city's AQI was measured at “very unhealthy”, with a reading of 243 at 11.30am EST.

Ground stops and delays at Dulles, Baltimore/Washington International and Washington National Airport are possible until 8pm EST. Washington's AQI reading was at 273 as of 11.30am EST.

Nearly a quarter of United Airlines' 670 flights were delayed on Wednesday. Newark Airport in New Jersey is one of the airline's major hubs.

A representative for Emirates airline said flights were operating on schedule on Thursday. Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways were also operating as normal, the airlines said.