Officials on Thursday said the LaGuardia Airport runway where the fatal crash of an Air Canada flight and a fire truck reopened Thursday morning. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
A LaGuardia runway that has been shuttered since Sunday night when an Air Canada jet collided with a fire truck, killing two people and injuring dozens more, was reopened Thursday morning, officials said, as the airline’s CEO apologized for an earlier English-only condolence message.
The incident occurred on Runway 4/22 late Sunday, resulting in its closure to allow for cleanup and investigations.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey spokesperson confirmed to UPI in an emailed statement that the runway reopened Thursday at 9:58 a.m.
“Since the removal of the plane and truck late Wednesday, the runway and associated infrastructure has been repaired, inspected and confirmed to meet [Federal Aviation Administration] regulations for safe operation,” the spokesperson said.
“The reopening of Runway 4/22 will help restore full operational capacity at LaGuardia, though travelers are still encouraged to check with their airline for flight status.”
The pilot and co-pilot of Air Canada Express Flight 8648 from Montreal, Canada, to New York City were killed when their Bombardier CRJ-900 jet was landing on Runway 4/22 and crashed into a Port Authority fire truck as it was attempting to cross to respond to another incident.
Forty-one passengers and crew of the jet and the two officers in the fire truck were taken to the hospital, many of whom were released, while several suffered serious injuries.
The plane was operated by Jazz Aviation.
On Thursday, Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau issued an apology after coming under fire for issuing a 3-minute, 44-second video statement of condolence only in English following the crash.
“I am deeply saddened that my inability to speak French has diverted attention from the profound grief of the families and the great resilience of Air Canada’s employees, who have demonstrated outstanding professionalism despite the events of the past few days,” he said in a statement.
“Despite many lessons over several years, unfortunately, I am still unable to express myself adequately in French. I sincerely apologize for this, but I am continuing my efforts to improve.”
Air Canada President and CEO Michael Rousseau provides a video statement on the tragic accident involving Air Canada Express AC8646: pic.twitter.com/ZwFibpOkj2— Air Canada (@AirCanada) March 23, 2026
Rousseau issued the English-only statement on Monday, drawing criticism and calls for him to resign over his inability to speak French while leading the nation’s flagship carrier.
“We proudly live in a bilingual country, and companies like Air Canada particularly have a responsibility to always communicate in both official languages, regardless of the situation,” Prime Minister Marc Carney told reporters. “I’m very disappointed, as others are — rightly so — in this unilingual message of the CEO of Air Canada.”
Carney said it displayed “a lack of judgment and a lack of compassion.”
Canada is bilingual, with French and English both being official languages.
Montreal, the city the plane departed from, is located in the French-speaking majority province of Quebec. One of the pilots killed — Antoine Forest — was French-speaking.
