Flights began resuming at several major U.S. East Coast airports Monday after an accidentally severed fibre-optic cable disrupted air traffic communications and prompted widespread ground stops.
The Federal Aviation Administration said a construction crew cut a backup fibre line at a site in New Jersey. The incident affected airports in New York, Boston, Newark and Philadelphia. Operations restarted in New York and Boston, while ground stops remained in place longer at Newark Liberty International Airport and Philadelphia International Airport.
The disruption occurred as about 130 world leaders and dozens of ministers travelled to New York for the United Nations General Assembly’s annual high-level meeting. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s flight was delayed, preventing him from attending a scheduled event, though his office expected him to arrive later Monday night.
Flight-tracking service FlightAware reported more than 600 delayed flights at Newark and Philadelphia, representing over 20 per cent of scheduled traffic at the two airports. Flightradar24 said Newark delays averaged 112 minutes. Some arriving flights were diverted to other airports.
The effects in Canada were limited. Fewer than a dozen flights at Toronto Pearson International Airport were affected. Officials at Pearson and Montreal-Trudeau International Airport advised passengers travelling to or from the United States to check directly with their airlines.
The communications failure renewed attention on the condition of the U.S. air traffic control network. Newark’s air traffic facility experienced several major communications outages in May 2025, while Philadelphia’s regional control centre was affected by a telecommunications outage the previous year. Congress later approved $12.5 billion US for system upgrades and additional controller hiring.
Officials did not report any safety incidents linked to the outage, but the disruption created waits for many passengers. The FAA continued working to restore normal operations, while airports and airlines managed delays, diversions and passenger rebooking.