Travelers knew Wednesday was going to be a mess at the airport—but they didn’t plan on the extra stress of pro-Palestine protesters blocking the access roads as well.
More than 60 protesters were arrested after two separate demonstrations closed roads leading to JFK and LAX airports, backing up traffic and forcing some travelers to get out of their Ubers and walk to the terminals.
No flights were delayed at either airport.
In New York, Port Authority Police officers arrested about 25 demonstrators who blocked traffic on the Van Wyck Expressway near the Terminal 4 exit for about 20 minutes at 11 am, and about 35 protesters who tried to block Century Boulevard near LAX with traffic cones, trash bins, scooters and debris, at about 9:30.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey dispatched two buses offering rides to travelers involved in the backup to allow them to reach the airport safely.
A few days earlier, a multi-car caravan blocked roads to O’Hare International Airport in Chicago.
On Wednesday, the Los Angeles Police Department accused protesters of throwing a police officer to the ground and “attacking uninvolved passerbys in their vehicles,” without providing further details about either incident. Traffic was impacted for about two hours.
Since the Israel-Hamas war began on Oct. 7, protests have broken out in cities across the United States. In New York, pro-Palestinian organizers protested events, including the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and the annual tree-lighting ceremony at Rockefeller Center.
At a news conference on Tuesday, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said, “I don’t believe that people should be able to just take over our streets and march in our streets. I don’t believe people should be able to take over our bridges. I just don’t believe you can run a city this complex where people can just do whatever they want.”
