'Bomb cyclone' forces world's largest passenger jet to land at small New York airport

The world's largest passenger plane, a Singapore Airlines Airbus A380, was forced to land at Stewart International Airport on Thursday due to blizzard conditions. (Stewart International Airport via Twitter)

A Singapore Airlines Airbus A380, the world’s largest passenger plane, was forced to land at a small New York airport Thursday after the "bomb cyclone" storm system forced the closure of runways at John F. Kennedy International.

Singapore Airlines Flight 26, flying from Frankfurt, Germany to New York City, landed at Stewart International Airport in New Windsor – 80 miles north of its intended destination, according to CNBC.

Manoel Gerlach, one of the 325 passengers on the flight, told CNBC that passengers were able to get off the plane at 5 p.m. using the outdoor stairs. He said he was traveling with his wife and toddler son.

Stewart International Airport bills itself as an “efficient diversion airport,” according to CNBC. The jumbo jet – and its 262-foot wingspan – is too big for the airport’s gates so passengers were forced to walk in the frigid temperatures to reach the terminal.

A Singapore Airlines spokesman said told CNBC they were planning on providing ground transportation for its passengers. The spokesman said the plane will eventually fly to JFK and then back to Germany.

The “bomb cyclone” storm system that trampled the Northeast forced the cancelation of more than 5,000 flights on Thursday and the cancelation of more than 1,000 flights on Friday, according to FlightAware.com.