Hundreds of flights were delayed across major U.S. East Coast airports after construction workers accidentally severed a telecommunications cable used by the air traffic control system.
The disruption affected airports across New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts, triggering ground stops and widespread delays.
Newark Liberty International Airport was hit hardest, with FlightAware reporting 267 departing flights and 257 arriving flights delayed. New York’s JFK and LaGuardia airports, along with Philadelphia International Airport, were also affected.
The damaged cable impacted the Terminal Radar Approach Control system, which helps guide aircraft during critical takeoff and landing operations.
Officials initially attributed the damage to Amtrak construction workers, but Amtrak later said the incident involved an NJ Transit contractor. NJ Transit said its workers accidentally severed the line after markers at the digging site were incorrectly placed. Verizon, which owns the cable, said it was not responsible.
The situation became more complicated because the severed cable was actually part of a backup network. FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said the problem was discovered only after the primary circuit failed.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy later announced that the cable had been repaired, although significant delays were expected to continue as operations recovered.
The disruption came just before the United Nations General Assembly in New York, when large numbers of world leaders and international delegations are expected to arrive in the city.
One passenger flying from Edinburgh to New York said his aircraft was diverted to Boston, where passengers remained on the tarmac for hours waiting for further information.
A single severed cable — and a backup system that wasn’t known to be compromised — ended up causing major disruption across one of the busiest aviation regions in the United States.
