Newark Liberty International Airport briefly grounded all arriving and departing flights on Saturday morning after a flight that had departed from La Guardia Airport made an emergency landing at Newark, officials said.
The flights were grounded around 8:45 a.m. An hour later, flights resumed, but officials said to expect delays.
Airport officials described what happened on Twitter as an “airport emergency.”
Scott Ladd, a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which runs the airport, said a United Airlines flight that had left La Guardia Airport headed for Houston experienced hydraulics problems around 8:30 a.m. and had to make an emergency landing at Newark.
“The plane blew a tire on landing and there was other structural damage that forced closure of the runway,” he said.
Passengers were removed from the plane on the runway and were taken by bus to an airport terminal, he said.
John Murray, 24, of Manhattan, who had been on the plane, said the flight was in the air for not more than 20 minutes. “The emergency response staff said we had a flat tire,” he said.
Mr. Murray said that after the plane landed and passengers had disembarked, he overheard flight staff members say the plane’s flat tire had created some friction in the wheel well, and that the friction created smoke, which prompted the emergency landing.
He said there had been no formal announcement about the emergency landing.
“It was a little nerve-racking seeing that we weren’t gaining any altitude and we were just circulating,” Mr. Murray said. “We kind of figured that something was amiss.”
He added, “Once I saw we were landing at Newark, I was sure it had to be for a good reason.”
Neil Reisner was on board a grounded plane on the tarmac at Newark.
“All I could see was another plane surrounded by emergency vehicles,” Mr. Reisner said.
Flight staff members told passengers that there was an emergency at the airport and that all the planes were being held. “They didn’t give us any updates,” Mr. Reisner said.
Earlier this month, tires on a Boeing 757 operated by United Airlines blew out as the plane was landing at Newark. The episode caused flight delays but no injuries to the 166 passengers on board.
Even with the emergency landing, and the shuffling on and off the tarmac, Mr. Murray found a silver lining.
“Also, lighthearted aside,” Mr. Murray posted on Twitter. “Got to try out the aircraft slide! Also top-notch.”
