A Verizon fiber-optic cable was accidentally severed on Monday, September 21, 2026, during construction near New Brunswick, New Jersey, disrupting the backup data feed used by the Federal Aviation Administration’s Philadelphia Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON). The outage led the FAA to issue ground stops for Newark Liberty International Airport, Philadelphia International Airport, and Teterboro Airport.
Flight Cancellations and Delays Across Regional Airports
By 6 p.m. on September 21, over 600 flights in and out of Newark were canceled, with nearly 100 delayed. Philadelphia International Airport saw more than 200 cancellations and over 400 delays. Flight delays at Newark reached up to 150 minutes, with average departure
delays exceeding two hours by noon. Ground stops began around 10:00 a.m. at Newark and 9:48 a.m. at Philadelphia, and Newark’s ground stop was extended until at least 1:45 p.m.
Several international flights originally bound for Newark were diverted to other U.S. hubs including Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport and Washington Dulles International Airport. A United Airlines flight from Berlin was diverted to Detroit, while a Stockholm flight operated by SAS landed at Washington Dulles. Flights into LaGuardia and JFK airports were also briefly affected, experiencing delays stemming from the Philadelphia TRACON outage.
Official Statements and Airline Responses
FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford explained that the
backup fiber was found to have a break during the automatic switch-over after a primary circuit failure. NJ Transit confirmed the cut was caused by construction crews operating approximately 10 feet from marked utilities near a rail project site between New Brunswick and North Brunswick, New Jersey. NJ Transit reported it is investigating repair status and utility marking responsibility.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy posted on X that flights were resuming following repairs and called for increased funding to modernize aging air traffic infrastructure. Verizon stated its network was fully operational prior to the accidental cable severing and denied responsibility for
the damage, attributing it to construction contractors “who dug up and cut our cable.” Verizon technicians were deployed immediately to repair the fiber.
United Airlines, which uses Newark as its largest international hub, waived flight change fees and offered additional pay to staff covering extra shifts at Newark. American Airlines, which operates a hub at Philadelphia, also waived fees for affected travelers and permitted use of alternate airports.
FAA Infrastructure and Previous Issues
The Philadelphia TRACON facility manages air traffic control for Newark, Philadelphia, LaGuardia, JFK, and Teterboro airports, making the backup communication links critical to regional operations. The FAA had experienced prior telecommunications and
infrastructure problems affecting Newark airspace and Philadelphia TRACON in 2025, prompting installation of new fiber-optic connections and backup systems.
Despite these upgrades, FAA continues to face staffing challenges, particularly in Philadelphia TRACON Area C, which controls Newark’s airspace. These constraints have affected operational capacity limits through at least October 2027, with a cap of 72 operations per hour (36 arrivals and 36 departures) at Newark due to personnel pressures.
Traveler Impact and Airport Operations
The backup system failure significantly disrupted flights at Newark, Philadelphia, and Teterboro airports, the latter serving mainly corporate and private aviation. Newark departures experienced delays averaging 105 to 124 minutes by
late morning, with delays increasing as the outage continued.
The FAA’s communication outage affected multiple FAA frequencies at Philadelphia TRACON, creating a cascading impact on air traffic management across several major airports. More than 20% of scheduled flights at Newark and Philadelphia faced cancellations or delays during the incident. International flights from Europe, including Iceland, Egypt, Greece, Spain, France, Germany, and Sweden, were among those rerouted.
Travelers requiring flights in or out of the affected airports faced cancellations, long delays, or diversions on September 21. Airlines took measures to accommodate passengers by waiving fees for flight changes and allowing alternate
airport use where possible.
