03 / 10
Cable cut disrupts hundreds of Northeast flights
A failed air-traffic circuit and severed backup cable halted arrivals at major Northeast airports.
What happened
A construction crew in New Jersey cut a Verizon fiber line after a circuit failed at a Philadelphia air-traffic facility, disabling a backup connection. The FAA paused incoming flights at Newark and Philadelphia and expanded restrictions to JFK and LaGuardia. Repairs later allowed Northeast airport operations to resume, with delays continuing.
Numbers
- More than 1,000Flights canceled nationwide on Monday
- Over 6,000Flights delayed nationwide on Monday
- 112 minutesAverage Newark delay reported
Questions
- Were flights only delayed?
- Flights were canceled, delayed and diverted rather than simply held at origin, affecting routes into and out of the region.
- Which other airports were affected?
- The pauses reached Newark, Philadelphia, JFK, LaGuardia and Teterboro; Boston was also affected by the wider disruption that day.
- What wider issue did officials cite?
- The transportation secretary linked the failure to aging infrastructure and called for additional funding to modernize it and prevent disruptions.
- What help did airlines offer?
- United and American waived change fees for affected travelers, while officials advised passengers to check directly with their airlines.
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The catch
Coverage differs on which construction operator cut the line, but agrees the cable was severed in New Jersey.