A severed fiber-optic cable caused a disruption of air traffic control communications at George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) in Houston on the evening of Tuesday, October 13, 2026. The damage occurred earlier that day when a construction contractor cut the cable, impacting airport operations.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) responded by issuing a ground stop for flights destined for IAH on Tuesday evening, citing major communications loss. The FAA warned that the ground stop could be extended and expanded to additional flights while repair efforts continued.
Houston Airports confirmed that repair crews were on-site working to fix the severed fiber-optic
line. Officials warned of possible additional delays and flight cancellations throughout the evening. U.S. Customs and Border Protection coordinated with airport authorities and airlines due to anticipated longer processing times for international arrivals following the disruption.
The incident was limited to operations at George Bush Intercontinental Airport. William P. Hobby Airport and other Houston terminal area airports were not affected by the outage. This disruption follows a similar event the previous day, October 12, when a severed fiber-optic cable caused FAA ground stops and cancellations at Raleigh-Durham International Airport.
Both incidents highlight vulnerabilities amid the FAA’s ongoing efforts to modernize
its aging air traffic communications infrastructure. The agency is addressing the challenges posed by critical fiber-optic line outages that disrupt coordination of air traffic control and airport operations.
“IAH has lost major communications and users can expect the current ground stop to be extended and expanded,” the FAA stated in a Tuesday evening operations advisory.
