Hundreds of flights servicing the New York City and Philadelphia areas were severely disrupted on Monday after a Verizon fiber-optic cable was inadvertently cut by a construction crew in New Jersey. The severed cable was part of a backup system critical to air traffic control communications. As a result, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) temporarily halted flights to Newark Liberty International Airport and Philadelphia International Airport, leading to extensive delays, cancellations, and diversions at multiple airports including LaGuardia and JFK.

By the evening, repairs to the damaged fiber line were underway, allowing flights to slowly resume. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy highlighted that the incident began with a failure of a primary communications circuit, and when the system tried to switch to backup, the fiber cut prevented that transition. The terminal radar approach control centers guiding flights into Newark and Philadelphia were directly impacted, causing extensive operational challenges for air traffic controllers.

United Airlines and American Airlines responded by waiving fees for travelers needing to change flights due to the disruptions. United, Newark’s busiest international carrier, also incentivized staff to cover additional shifts and helped ease commuting for employees. Several international flights, some diverted as far as Detroit and Washington D.C., were delayed or rerouted, indicating the widespread nature of the disruption. The construction crew had reportedly been working only about 10 feet from utility markings when the cable was severed.

This incident further underscores longstanding concerns over aging U.S. air traffic control infrastructure. The Trump administration had announced a multibillion-dollar effort to modernize systems, but events like Monday’s fiber cut highlight vulnerabilities in the current network. Secretary Duffy called for increased funding to upgrade the technology and avoid similar disruptions in the future, particularly as the incident coincided with preparations for the United Nations General Assembly in New York.