US flights in chaos as communications fail and cable accidentally cut

Thousands of flights were disrupted across the US on the day world leaders convened for the United Nations General Assembly in New York, after a telecommunications cable was accidentally severed in New Jersey. The mishap caused a communication breakdown that halted incoming flights at major East Coast airports, including New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and Teterboro. Over 5,600 flights were delayed or cancelled, with more than 100 forced to divert to alternative airports.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) halted traffic at three major New York-area airports and two smaller ones in the region, as well as Newark. Flight trackers reported that the disruption affected more than 5,600 flights, with 1,200 at the three New York-area airports alone. The issue also forced authorities to ground flights at Reagan Washington National Airport due to high volume.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy revealed that an Amtrak construction crew had accidentally cut a fibre line in New Jersey, leading to the telecom outage. The FAA attributed the problem to a failed circuit at a Philadelphia air traffic control facility and the severed backup fibre line, which took an estimated 13 hours to repair.

Reagan Washington National Airport experienced a ground stop for nearly an hour due to flight volume, while Philadelphia saw a brief resumption of incoming flights after a ground stop was lifted. The FAA stated that incoming flights would not be restarted until the airspace was deemed safe. The incident highlights the fragility of the aging US air traffic control system, which received $US12.5 billion in funding from Congress in May 2025 to address the issue and bolster controller hiring.

However, Duffy emphasized the need for an additional $US17.5 billion to complete the task, deeming the current state of affairs "unacceptable in America."