It was not the tragic loss of life that stopped the hearts of the Upper East Side this morning. It was the utter logistical nightmare. A fatal runway collision at LaGuardia has turned the gateway to the world into a parking lot for grounded Gulfstreams.

Imagine the horror of being stuck in a terminal while the caviar goes warm. You have booked the NetJets. The weekend in the Hamptons is calling. Then a ground vehicle ruins the tarmac and your entire social schedule.

Forty-one people were hospitalized in the crash. But for the jet-set, the real injury is the delay. The closure of the runway means private transfers are in total disarray.

Those who usually fly over the traffic are now sitting in it. It is a reminder that even the most expensive ticket cannot always buy a way out of a public mess. High-society events across the coast are facing empty chairs.

If the infrastructure keeps crumbling, we might have to start traveling by yacht. At least the ocean does not have a traffic controller.