A sinkhole shut down a runway at LaGuardia Airport in New York City on May 20, leading to delayed flights, according to local authorities.The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey crews were conducting a daily morning inspection of the airfield and found the sinkhole near Runway 4/22, the airport said in a statement posted to social media shortly after 2 p.m. EDT.The airport said that the runway was immediately shut down and that emergency construction crews are on site to determine the cause of the sinkhole and make repairs."Travelers should expect delays and cancellations, particularly with forecast thunderstorms expected later today," the statement reads. Queens, where the airport is located, is under a severe thunderstorm watch until 9 p.m. ET, according to the National Weather Service.USA TODAY has reached out to major airlines to confirm the number of delays connected to the sinkhole. The Port Authority said in an email that it could not state how many flights were delayed as, "the FAA had safety programs at LGA throughout the day that were not related to the runway."Lynn Lunsford, a spokesperson for Southwest Airlines, said in an email to USA TODAY that about 20 flights were delayed as repairs were being made but that weather in the area made it "impossible to attribute delays to a single cause."CNBC reported that Delta Air Lines has issued a booking waiver in place for flights in and out of New York City area airports.