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Several of the busiest airports on the East Coast were hit by FAA ground stops after a construction accident triggered a major telecommunications failure.
The ground stops were expanded to include New York’s John F. Kennedy and LaGuardia airports, as well as Boston Logan International, after earlier flight halts at Newark Liberty, Philadelphia and Teterboro airports.
Federal Aviation Administration officials confirmed that the disruptions stemmed from an accidental line cut at a construction site in New Jersey.
FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said a new circuit would be operational imminently, but it was not clear when ground stops at the New York-area airports would be lifted.
The outage comes as 130 world leaders and dozens of ministers are arriving in New York for the annual high-level meeting of the United Nations General Assembly.
The outage centers on frequency and radar link failures at the Philadelphia Terminal Radar Approach Control, or TRACON, an essential facility responsible for managing aircraft approach and departure traffic across the region.
More than 600 flights at Newark and Philadelphia — representing about 20 percent of schedules — had been delayed by 1 p.m. ET, according to flight-tracking platform FlightAware, with numerous other flights forced to divert mid-air. Newark operates as a major hub for United Airlines, while Philadelphia serves as an American Airlines hub.
“The FAA is pausing flights into Philadelphia International, Teterboro and Newark Liberty International airports due to issues with some frequencies at Philadelphia TRACON,” a spokesperson said at around 10 a.m.
Travelers stranded across the region posted updates on social media as the delays grew.
“Man, worst possible day for all New York City airports — JFK, LaGuardia, AND Newark — to go down,” Matthew Boyle posted on X as he was preparing to board a flight from Washington, D.C. to New York that was delayed just before boarding. “Beginning of the UNGA high-level week, and apparently FAA problems shutting all three down. (As I was about to board a flight from DC to NY, they delayed it just before we got on plane). Insane.”
Another user by the handle OkadikeOnyeisi wrote on X that the ground stops create “an enormous logistical challenge for airlines, passengers, security teams, and diplomatic delegations” during “an especially sensitive time, with the UN General Assembly bringing hundreds of world leaders and international delegations into New York.”
The outages also prompted concern among travelers regarding heightened security measures.
“I took a flight from Austin to JFK yesterday that had additional TSA check at the gate itself,” X user Michael Scaglione posted. “They assured us it was random, but another person flying told me her flight from Maine to NYC also had additional TSA check at the gate there. “They are lying. Something’s going on.”
The Philadelphia facility has faced lingering scrutiny regarding its infrastructure. In May 2025, the same air traffic operation guiding flights around Newark suffered repeated communication blackouts. Telecommunications outages also disrupted controller radar displays at Philadelphia TRACON last year.
Congress previously approved $12.5 billion to modernize aging air traffic management infrastructure and expand controller hiring to resolve chronic system vulnerabilities.
The outage at the major U.S. airports comes as the United Kingdom is dealing with its own flight issues.
A “connectivity issue” at NATS Prestwick control center in Scotland grounded flights across Edinburgh, Leeds Bradford, Belfast and Manchester on Monday, disrupting thousands of travelers.
