A broken water main at JFK International Airport wreaked havoc on bathrooms at one of its most important terminals
- A water main break at JFK International Airport on Thursday morning stopped travelers from using the restrooms in Terminal 5, according to multiple outlets.
- A contractor working on the TWA Hotel outside of Terminal 5 struck a water main.
- JFK Airport's official Twitter page said the water main break "impacted water pressure inside the terminal," adding that "flight activity has not been disrupted."
- One traveler told NBC 4 New York, "Every bathroom is closed in this building with thousands of people who just got off a plane. No restaurants are serving anything fresh."
A water main break at JFK International Airport on Thursday morning stopped travelers from using the restrooms in Terminal 5.
"A contractor was working outside Terminal 5 and struck a water main," Port Authority of New York and New Jersey senior public information office Alana Calmi told Business Insider in an interview.
According to Calmi, the break occurred Thursday morning around 8:30 am.
Fortunately, "it didn't flood the terminal or anything like that," Calmi added.
At 9:09 a.m., JFK Airport's official Twitter account announced, "Terminal 5 was a water main break. Please contact your airlines for flight status."
About 20 minutes later, the airport's Twitter account gave an update that said the water break was outside the terminal but, "has impacted water pressure inside the terminal," adding that "flight activity has not been disrupted."
By 9:38 a.m., the same Twitter account announced that the water main break "has been resolved and water pressure inside the terminal is in the process of being restored."
The water main break disrupted the airport experience for some travelers.
NBC 4 New York reported Jeremy King, a traveler who "recently landed" at the airport, said, "Every bathroom is closed in this building with thousands of people who just got off a plane. No restaurants are serving anything fresh."
The New York Daily News reported the break caused water pressure to drop, "grounding all the bathrooms."
"Their bathrooms were never fully closed, just reduced water pressure," Calmi told Business Insider. "Everything was fully operational by Noon."
JetBlue, Terminal 5's main tenants, confirmed that all services were back to normal by the afternoon.
"Water pressure has been restored at JFK terminal 5 and all services are back to normal following a water main break at the nearby TWA Hotel construction site," an airline spokesperson told Business Insider in an email.
Regardless, some took to social media on Thursday to voice their frustrations at the situation experienced at JFK International Airport on Thursday.