Major US airports halt flights after construction crew severs fiber optic cable

A construction crew operating in New Jersey accidentally severed a Verizon fiber optic cable on Monday, September 21, 2026, leading to widespread disruptions across several major East Coast airports. The damage caused a critical equipment failure at Philadelphia Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON), which manages air traffic for airports in the region. When the system attempted to switch to a backup, the break in the fiber optic line was discovered.

This incident resulted in immediate ground stops and significant flight delays at Newark Liberty International, Teterboro, Philadelphia International, LaGuardia, and John F. Kennedy International airports, with Boston Logan International also experiencing impacts. Over 600 flights at Newark and Philadelphia alone were delayed, representing more than 20% of their traffic, and delays at Newark averaged 112 minutes. The disruption occurred as world leaders gathered in New York for the United Nations General Assembly.

Verizon stated that repair of the damaged cable was estimated to take approximately 13 hours, while a new circuit was expected to become operational sooner to alleviate some of the issues. The outage prompted diversions for some flights and left many passengers stranded.