Traffic disrupted at Newark airport after JetBlue engine failure

By David Shepardson

Feb 18 (Reuters) - Traffic was disrupted at Newark Liberty International Airport on Wednesday after a Florida-bound JetBlue JBLU.O flight suffered an engine failure on takeoff and returned to the airport, officials said.

Passengers and crew on Flight 543 exited the Airbus AIR.PA A320 on a taxiway around 5:55 p.m. after the crew reported smoke in the cockpit and cabin and evacuated passengers via slides, the Federal Aviation Administration and JetBlue said. No injuries were reported.

Nearly all flights were halted for about an hour before resuming around 7 p.m. at the airport just outside New York City, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and Flightaware said.

Flightaware, a flight tracking site, said 31%, or 183, of arriving flights were delayed at Newark along with 30% or 177 departing flights.

The FAA said it would investigate the incident involving the plane that had been bound for West Palm Beach, Florida.

"Safety is JetBlue’s top priority. We are focused on supporting our customers and crewmembers and will work closely with the appropriate federal authorities to investigate what occurred," JetBlue said.