Anti-Israel ralliers caused a New Year’s Day travel headache as they descended to John F. Kennedy International Airport by subway and car – creating a traffic-jammed nightmare on one of the busiest travel days of the year.
The Belt Parkway — a major thoroughfare used by vehicles to travel to the airport — was temporarily blocked off by police near Exit 20 as they tried to stem the flow of the “Flood JFK For Gaza” protest, which was planned by Within Our Lifetime, a Palestinian-led activist group.
Video posted to social media showed more than a dozen cars waving Palestinian flags and honking car horns on the gridlocked parkway shortly before the planned demonstration at 2 p.m.
Traveling by rail wasn’t much better as the shuttle train at Jamaica station had limited access to only employees and people with boarding passes, video shows.
NYPD Chief of Transportation Philip Rivera advised travelers to plan their travel ahead of time and be prepared for delays due to planned protests.
The demonstration comes just days after police arrested at least 26 protestors that blocked the Van Wyck Expressway, halting access to the Queen’s airport.
As many as 40 people linked hands together, blocking traffic on the highway and on a service road – which forced travelers to walk to their terminals in the rain with their luggage.
Shortly after 3 p.m. the NYPD sent an advisory saying the protest was heading on the Grand Central Parkway towards LaGuardia Airport, blocking right and center lanes.
The NYPD did not immediately return requests for comment.