Turtles close airport runway

A RUNWAY at New York City's Kennedy Airport had to be shut down after 78 turtles emerged from a nearby bay and crawled onto the tarmac.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said ground crews rounded up the wayward reptiles in about 35 minutes on Wednesday morning and deposited them back in the water, away from airport property.

The shutdown disrupted flight schedules, though, with delays climbing to nearly one and a half hours.

Pilots reported the first turtle sightings at around 8.30 am local time.

The Port Authority identified the turtles as Diamondback terrapins.

They appeared to be about 20cm long and weigh around 1kg each.