Flights gradually resume at major US East Coast airports after disruption grounds thousands
About 7,000 flights were delayed or cancelled, including 1,400 flights at the three major New York-area airports.
On Monday (Sep 21), thousands of flights across the United States were disrupted when a telecommunications issue at major East Coast airports halted incoming flights for hours. The problem began around 9:45 am when workers accidentally severed a telecom line in New Jersey, which the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) relied on.
This forced a halt to arrivals at major airports on the day 130 world leaders and ministers arrived in New York for the United Nations General Assembly. The issue persisted for eight hours before the FAA resolved it.
The FAA stopped flights at all three major New York-area airports, along with Philadelphia, Boston, and two smaller airports in the area. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy later confirmed that telecom lines had been repaired, and normal operations would resume, but he advised passengers to check their flight statuses. Flight-tracking website FlightAware reported about 7,000 flights were delayed or cancelled, with 1,400 of them at the three major New York-area airports. More than half of flights were cancelled at Newark, a major United Airlines hub.
The incident exposed the vulnerabilities of the aging US air traffic control system, which Congress had allocated $12.5 billion for upgrades in 2025. New Jersey Transit discovered a crew had been digging near utility markings 10 feet away from a Verizon fiber line. The FAA initially blamed an Amtrak construction crew, but Amtrak later denied responsibility.
By 5:30 pm, most of the fiber cables were repaired, and Newark Airport and LaGuardia reopened for incoming flights. Philadelphia's flights resumed late in the afternoon, and Reagan Washington National Airport halted flights for more than an hour due to congestion. FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford expressed regret for the delays and cancellations, emphasizing that safety was the top priority.
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