US flights chaos as communications fail and cable is accidentally cut - ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Every major airport in the New York City area ground to a halt for several hours due to the technical issues. (Reuters: Shannon Stapleton)
Thousands of flights have been delayed or cancelled across the US after a backup fibre cable in New Jersey was accidentally cut, causing a telecom outage.
The disruption came as world leaders were arriving in New York for the annual United Nations General Assembly meeting.
The incident highlights the fragility of the aging US air traffic control system, for which Congress has approved billions of dollars in funding.
A failed telecommunications circuit and a severed fibre-optic cable have snarled thousands of flights across the US and halted incoming flights at major airports in New York, Boston and Philadelphia.
The flights were halted on the day that 130 world leaders and dozens of ministers were arriving in New York for the annual high-level meeting of the United Nations General Assembly.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) halted incoming traffic on Monday, local time, at busy US East Coast airports and, at one point, stopped incoming flights at all three major New York-area airports, as well as Philadelphia, Boston, and two smaller airports in the New York area.
FlightAware, a flight-tracking website, said more than 5,600 flights were delayed or cancelled, including 1,200 flights at the three New York-area airports.
The issue also forced more than 100 flights to divert to other airports.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said an Amtrak construction crew accidentally cut a fibre line in New Jersey, causing a telecom outage and forcing the FAA to pause flights in the north-east.
He said flights were resuming at New York LaGuardia but remained paused at Newark and New Jersey's Teterboro Airport.
All arriving flights were again halted in Philadelphia after a ground stop was briefly lifted. Reagan Washington National Airport also halted flights for more than an hour because of volume issues.
FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said a replacement circuit failed at Philadelphia Terminal Radar Approach Control, which provided primary communications for the centre. The FAA also lifted a ground stop at Boston, which had stopped accepting flights because of spillover volume.
The FAA will not restart the system for incoming flights at the affected airports "until we make sure the airspace is safe," Mr Bedford said.
The loss of communications was tied to a failed circuit at a Philadelphia air traffic control facility that handles air traffic for the airports, he said.
Authorities then discovered that a construction crew in New Jersey accidentally cut a backup fibre line.
"It's massive, I'm told. Meanwhile, we've got the new circuit ready to install now."
Newark is a major United Airlines hub, while Philadelphia is an American Airlines hub.
Verizon said its fibre cable running adjacent to an Amtrak rail line in New Jersey was cut, and its facilities were fully functional until then. The company said it was working to repair the damaged cable and restore connectivity as quickly as possible.
In May 2025, the Philadelphia facility that guides air traffic in and out of Newark Airport suffered a series of significant communications outages.
The FAA said a telecommunications outage last year impacted communications and radar displays at Philadelphia TRACON.
Last year, Congress approved $US12.5 billion ($17.5 billion) to address the aging air traffic control system and boost controller hiring following complaints over airport congestion, flight delays, and technology issues in recent years.
Mr Duffy said Congress needed to approve another $US17.5 billion to finish the job, saying "this is unacceptable in America".
