A severed fiber-optic cable disrupted operations at George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) in Houston on the evening of October 13, 2026, resulting in an FAA ground stop and flight delays. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued the ground stop for flights inbound to IAH and warned the restrictions might extend to more flights. Flight arrivals and departures at William P. Hobby Airport and other Houston terminal area airports were not affected.
Cause and FAA Communications Advisory
Houston Airports reported that a construction contractor damaged the fiber-optic cable earlier on October 13, causing the communications outage. The FAA stated in an operations advisory that “IAH has
lost major communications and users can expect the current ground stop to be extended and expanded.” Repair crews were present at the airport working on restoring the line throughout the evening.
Passenger Impact and Coordination
The disruption caused delays and cancellations for flights bound for George Bush Intercontinental Airport on October 13. Houston Airports warned that additional operational delays were possible for the remainder of the evening. International arrivals faced longer processing times through U.S. Customs and Border Protection due to the outage. The airport coordinated closely with airlines and U.S. Customs and Border Protection to manage operational impacts and minimize delays during the
outage.
Related Incident and FAA Infrastructure Modernization
The Houston cable severing follows a similar incident at Raleigh-Durham International Airport on October 12, 2026, where a contractor cut a fiber-optic cable. That outage also triggered FAA ground stops, flight cancellations, and arrival delays exceeding two hours. Both events highlight challenges in the FAA’s aging air traffic communications infrastructure. The FAA continues efforts to modernize these systems to reduce the risk of such disruptions in the future.
