Tower Air Grounds Passenger Service

Tower Air, which filed for bankruptcy protection earlier this year, unexpectedly discontinued its scheduled passenger service out of John F. Kennedy International Airport Monday evening.

A spokesman at the airline's operations office said the airline stopped outgoing flights at 6:30 p.m.

WCBS-TV Correspondent Michael O'Looney reports that Tower planned to continue its military and charter operations.

International arrivals were scheduled to continue landing at Kennedy airport early Tuesday morning. Most international Tower Air flights landed around 4 a.m., Port Authority spokesman Alan Morrison said.

The Port Authority added extra staff at the airport to help direct displaced passengers. But, Authority police said it was unclear whether Tower tickets were being honored by other airlines.

The number of Tower Air passenger flights affected was unavailable.

In February, Tower Air Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del.

The airline, based at Kennedy Airport in New York, said it intended to cut 300 jobs, or 19 percent of its work force, in an effort to boost profits.

Tower, which once flew both scheduled and chartered service, also said that in February it planned to reduce the size of its fleet by returning planes to their lessor.

Morris Nachtomi, the company's president, chief executive and chairman of the board, holds 77.2 percent of Tower's voting securities, according to the bankruptcy filing. Nachtomi is the managing general partner of the Nachtomi Family LP, which holds the vast majority of those shares.

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