Airports across the Northeast were recovering Tuesday after a primary communications circuit failed and a damaged backup line compounded the outage.
NEWARK, NJ — Flight operations were returning toward normal across the Northeast on Tuesday after two failures in the Federal Aviation Administration’s communications network forced ground stops, diversions and widespread cancellations at some of the nation’s busiest airports a day earlier.
The disruption began Monday when a primary communications circuit serving an FAA air traffic control facility in Philadelphia failed. When the system attempted to shift operations to a backup fiber-optic line, officials discovered that line had already been severed during construction work in New Jersey. The combined failures left controllers without normal radar and communications service for hours and forced the FAA to sharply restrict traffic throughout the region.
The outage affected Newark Liberty International Airport, Philadelphia International Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport and LaGuardia Airport, along with Teterboro Airport and other parts of the Northeast air traffic network. Ground stops were imposed at several airports as the FAA worked to restore communications. The disruption spread far beyond the immediate area as airlines delayed, canceled or diverted aircraft that were scheduled to pass through major Northeast hubs.
About 9,500 flights were delayed or canceled during Monday’s disruption, according to figures reported by Reuters. Newark, a major United Airlines hub, was particularly hard hit, with more than half of its scheduled flights canceled during the outage. Commercial arrivals at Newark were effectively halted for much of the day, with flight-tracking data showing no commercial landings there for nearly eight hours. More than 100 flights were diverted during the broader disruption.
FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said the initial problem involved a failed circuit at the Philadelphia Terminal Radar Approach Control facility, commonly known as Philadelphia TRACON. Such facilities use radar and radio communications to guide aircraft approaching and departing airports. When the primary circuit failed Monday morning, the backup system could not provide the intended redundancy because its fiber-optic connection had been damaged.
Responsibility for the damaged backup cable was initially unclear. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy first said an Amtrak construction crew had accidentally cut the line. Amtrak disputed that account and said the incident occurred on New Jersey Transit property and involved a New Jersey Transit contractor. New Jersey Transit later acknowledged that a crew working on its Delco Lead project between New Brunswick and North Brunswick had severed a fiber-optic cable. The agency said the circumstances surrounding utility markings at the work site were still being investigated.
Verizon, which owns the damaged fiber infrastructure, said its facilities had been operating normally before the cable was cut and sent technicians to assist with repairs. The damaged backup line became critical only after the separate primary communications circuit failed, turning what would normally have been a redundant system into a widespread air traffic problem. Federal officials said both telecommunications paths were repaired Monday evening and airport operations began resuming.
The effects continued into Tuesday as airlines worked through displaced crews, aircraft and passengers. Flights were again taking off and landing at the major New York-area airports, although some cancellations and delays remained. Newark officials expected residual disruptions as carriers rebuilt their schedules after Monday’s shutdown. The FAA continued to direct passengers to individual airlines for flight-specific information.
The outage renewed questions about the resilience of the nation’s aging air traffic control network. Congress previously approved $12.5 billion for modernization efforts, and federal transportation officials have sought additional money for a broader overhaul. Duffy said the replacement system is being designed with multiple telecommunications routes so a failure of one or two connections would not produce the same type of disruption. Bedford has said outdated copper telecommunications wiring is scheduled to be replaced by September 2027.
The Philadelphia facility has drawn particular attention because it also played a role in communications problems affecting Newark in 2025. The FAA previously announced additional fiber-optic connections, backup equipment and other changes intended to improve reliability for controllers handling Newark traffic. Monday’s outage demonstrated that a primary failure combined with damage to a backup connection could still produce extensive consequences throughout the national air travel system.
The timing added to the disruption because world leaders and delegations were arriving in New York for the United Nations General Assembly. The outage affected travel plans for some officials, including Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. Federal officials said the telecommunications problem had been resolved by Monday evening, and normal air traffic operations had resumed by Tuesday, though airlines continued clearing the remaining backlog of delayed passengers and flights.
Author note: Last updated September 22, 2026.