Monster Storm Forces Jumbo Jet to Land at Small New York Airport

The world’s largest passenger plane was forced to land at a small New York airport Thursday after the “bomb cyclone” winter storm forced runway closures at John F. Kennedy International Airport.

Singapore Airlines Airbus A380’s flight 26 was traveling from Frankfurt, Germany to New York City on Thursday. While the plane made it near the Big Apple, it was rerouted to land at Stewart International Airport in New Windsor — 80 miles north of JFK — around 1 p.m.

Stewart International bills itself as an “efficient diversion airport,” according to CNBC. Because it services smaller planes, the giant jet — with a 262-foot wingspan — couldn’t dock into the airport’s gates.

Manoel Gerlach, one of the flight’s passengers who was traveling with this wife and toddler son, told CNBC that everyone was able to get off the plane at 5 p.m. Thursday using a set of outdoor stairs. The 325 total passengers were then forced to walk in the freezing temperatures to reach the terminal.

A Singapore Airlines spokesperson said they were planning to provide ground transportation to take passengers to their original destination. The spokesperson added that the plane will eventually be transferred to JFK, then it will fly back to Germany.

While Singapore Airlines Flight 26 was rerouted to a nearby destination, the severe storm system barreling through the Northeast forced the cancellation of more than 5,000 flights on Thursday, FlightAware.com reports. More than 1,000 flights had been canceled Friday due to the “bomb cyclone” event’s heavy snowfall and hurricane-force winds.