Over 1,000 US flights disrupted after FAA outage and fibre-optic cable cut
Radio and radar equipment failure triggers widespread delays and cancellations
WASHINGTON – Flights were suspended at several major US airports across the Northeast after a telecommunications outage disrupted Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) systems, affecting thousands of passengers.
The disruption hit major airports serving New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts, with more than 1,000 flights delayed or cancelled during the outage. Airport operations later began to resume after damaged telecommunications lines were repaired, although residual disruption was expected.
The affected airports included John F. Kennedy International Airport, LaGuardia Airport, Newark Liberty International Airport, Teterboro Airport, Westchester County Airport, Philadelphia International Airport and Boston Logan International Airport.
FAA outage
The disruption was linked to failures affecting radio and radar equipment serving airports across the Northeast. FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said a circuit failure at the Philadelphia Terminal Radar Approach Control facility resulted in the loss of critical communications and radar equipment used to manage aircraft.
Flights bound for several airports were placed under ground stops, meaning aircraft were held at their departure airports rather than being allowed to fly towards affected facilities. Flight-tracking service Flightradar24 reported that JFK and LaGuardia were added to the list of airports subject to the restrictions.
Newark experienced particularly significant disruption. Flightradar24 reported that 107 flights had been diverted from Newark to 34 separate airports by 5:30pm EDT, affecting 25 airlines. Washington Dulles International Airport received 19 of those diverted flights, while JFK received 12. United Airlines, which operates a major hub at Newark, recorded 70 diversions.
Commercial arrivals at Newark were halted for several hours. Flightradar24 said no commercial flights landed at the airport between 9:38am and 5:22pm local time before arrivals resumed, although some flights continued to be diverted.
Cable damage
The disruption was compounded when officials discovered damage to a newly installed fibre-optic backup system in New Jersey. US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said an Amtrak construction crew accidentally cut a fibre-optic line near a rail line, affecting Verizon communications infrastructure.
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The telecommunications lines were repaired by around 6pm, allowing airport operations across the Northeast to resume. However, passengers continued to face residual delays as airlines and airports worked through the backlog created by the outage.
The disruption occurred as New York prepared to host world leaders and ministers for the 81st United Nations General Assembly. Bedford also said the existing network design required an overhaul to reduce the risk of similar failures affecting aviation operations.