- Thousands of flights disrupted at US East Coast airports after cable cut
- Primary communications circuit failed at FAA radar facility
- Backup fibre-optic line severed by construction workers
- More than 7,000 flights disrupted
- Outage lasted approximately eight hours
A major telecommunications outage has disrupted more than 7,000 flights across the US Northeast on Monday 21 September 2026 after a primary air traffic control line failed and a backup fibre-optic cable was accidentally severed by construction workers. The incident triggered widespread ground stops and severe delays at major aviation hubs including Newark Liberty, John F. Kennedy, LaGuardia, Philadelphia and Boston Logan airports. More than 1,000 flights were temporarily suspended at major East Coast airports.
The crisis began Monday morning when a primary communications circuit blew at a key Federal Aviation Administration regional radar facility in Philadelphia. When the system attempted to switch to its backup network officials discovered that the backup fibre-optic line had already been severed. A construction contractor working for NJ Transit accidentally cut the Verizon fibre line at approximately 9:45am during work on the Delco Lead railroad project in New Jersey.
The outage lasted for approximately eight hours leaving air traffic controllers temporarily without the necessary communication systems to guide takeoffs and landings. US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed that the telecom lines were repaired and normal airspace operations resumed. However residual delays and cancellations are rolling into Tuesday as airlines work through the massive backlog. The disruption occurred at a high-traffic moment overlapping with the arrival of over 130 world leaders in New York City for the annual United Nations General Assembly.
