Air traffic control facilities have issued wide-ranging ground stops at several major airports on the US East Coast following a construction accident. The incident triggered a significant telecommunications failure, impacting operations at key hubs.
The ground stops include New York’s John F. Kennedy and LaGuardia airports, as well as Boston Logan International. Earlier flight halts were implemented at Newark Liberty, Philadelphia, and Teterboro airports.
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) officials confirmed the disruptions are a result of an accidental line cut. An FAA administrator stated that a backup fiber line was inadvertently severed by construction workers, causing a communications outage at the agency's Philadelphia facility.
The outage primarily affects frequency and radar link failures at the Philadelphia Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON). This facility is crucial for managing aircraft approach and departure traffic across the region. By 1 p.m. ET, over 600 flights at Newark and Philadelphia, representing approximately 20 percent of scheduled services, had been delayed.