The United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) temporarily halted flights at several major airports along the East Coast on Monday following an equipment outage that disrupted more than 1,000 flights.
The ground stops affected major airports including John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and LaGuardia Airport in New York, Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, Boston Logan International Airport and Philadelphia International Airport.
The disruption occurred as world leaders and senior government officials arrived in New York for the annual high-level meeting of the United Nations General Assembly.
US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said flights had resumed at LaGuardia and Philadelphia, while ground stops remained in effect at Newark, JFK and Teterboro Airport in New Jersey. The restriction at Boston was also lifted.
FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said the agency had lost its primary communications circuit at Philadelphia Terminal Radar Approach Control, known as Philadelphia TRACON, which manages air traffic across a large portion of the northeastern United States.
He said the backup fibre-optic connection had also been damaged and that repairs could take up to 13 hours.
Transportation Secretary Duffy said an Amtrak construction crew had accidentally cut a fibre-optic line in New Jersey, causing a telecommunications outage that forced the FAA to pause flights across the Northeast.
Newark Among Worst-Affected Airports
Newark Liberty International Airport recorded more than 1,000 delayed or cancelled flights, making it the most heavily affected airport during the disruption.
Across the United States, nearly 4,000 flights were delayed and about 500 were cancelled.
United Airlines, which operates Newark as a major hub, said it was waiving change fees for passengers affected by the disruption.
The airline said flights scheduled to arrive at Newark had either been held at their departure airports or diverted to other airports. It added that it would assist passengers in reaching their destinations once the FAA outage was resolved.
According to FlightAware, Newark had the highest levels of delays and cancellations. By 3pm Eastern Time, 31 percent of departing flights and 29 percent of arriving flights had been cancelled, while 17 percent of both departing and arriving flights had been delayed.
A ground stop was also imposed at Teterboro Airport, a private airport near New York City.
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