Air traffic control facilities issued wide-ranging ground stops at several of the busiest airports on the East Coast after a construction accident triggered a major telecommunications failure.
The ground stops were expanded to include New York’s John F. Kennedy and LaGuardia airports, as well as Boston Logan International, after earlier flight halts at Newark Liberty, Philadelphia and Teterboro airports.
Federal Aviation Administration officials confirmed that the disruptions stem from an accidental line cut.
“FAA administrator said a backup fiber line was accidentally cut by construction workers, causing a communications outage at the agency’s Philadelphia facility and forcing significant flight reductions,” @CHItrader posted on X.
The outage centers on frequency and radar link failures at the Philadelphia Terminal Radar Approach Control, or TRACON, an essential facility responsible for managing aircraft approach and departure traffic across the region.
More than 600 flights at Newark and Philadelphia — representing about 20 percent of schedules — had been delayed by 1 p.m. ET, according to flight-tracking platform FlightAware, with numerous other flights forced to divert mid-air. Newark operates as a major hub for United Airlines, while Philadelphia serves as an American Airlines hub.
“The FAA is pausing flights into Philadelphia International, Teterboro and Newark Liberty International airports due to issues with some frequencies at Philadelphia TRACON,” a spokesperson said at around 10 a.m.
TRACON, which stands for Terminal Radar Approach Control, is an air traffic control facility that uses radar and radios to guide planes approaching and departing airports.
In May 2025, the facility that guides air traffic in and out of Newark airport suffered a series of significant communications outages.
The FAA said last year a telecommunications outage impacted communications and radar displays at Philadelphia TRACON.
Last year, Congress approved $12.5 billion to address the aging air traffic control system, and boost controller hiring following decades of complaints over airport congestion and flight delays and a series of technology issues in recent years.
The outage at the two major U.S. airports come as the United Kingdom is dealing with its own flight issues.
A “connectivity issue” at Nats’ Prestick centre in Scotland grounded flights at airports in Edinburgh, Leeds Bradford, Belfast and Manchester on Monday.
The problem impacted thousands of passengers, with many voicing frustration on social media over the disruption. It marks the second day of major flight disruptions in just one month after an unrelated software fault caused an air travel meltdown on September 8.
