FAA grounds flights at major Northeast airports after fiber line cut
A fiber-optic line cut disrupted flights at Newark Liberty, JFK, LaGuardia and other Northeast airports
Circuit failure triggers major delays at airports in Northeast
FOX Business correspondent Connor Hansen speaks with Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy about what led to a series of ground stops at some of the nation’s largest airports on ‘The Story.’
An Amtrak construction crew accidentally cut a fiber-optic line in New Jersey, triggering a telecommunications outage that forced the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to pause flights across parts of the Northeast, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Monday afternoon.
"An Amtrak construction crew accidentally cut into a fiber line in New Jersey which caused a telecom outage and forced FAA to pause flights in the Northeast," Duffy wrote on X.
Duffy said flights were resuming at LaGuardia Airport (LGA) and Philadelphia International Airport (PHL), while flights into Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and Teterboro Airport (TEB) remained paused.
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An air traffic control tower at Philadelphia International Airport in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (John Greim/Loop Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
"This incident underscores the need for additional funding to modernize aging infrastructure and prevent disruptions like this in the future," he said.
As of 3:07 p.m. ET, the FAA's website showed active ground stops at EWR and TEB, while JFK, LGA and PHL were operating under ground delays related to the equipment outage.
Earlier Monday, the FAA told Fox News it was pausing flights into Philadelphia International, Teterboro and Newark Liberty International airports due to "issues with some frequencies at Philadelphia TRACON."
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A JetBlue Airways Airbus A320 sits at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) with the Lower Manhattan skyline and One World Trade Center in the background on Jan. 15, 2026, in Newark, New Jersey. (Al Drago/Getty Images)
FAA pinpoints cause of hours-long ground stop at major Northeast cities
Federal Aviation Administrator Brian Bedford said Monday that officials discovered that a backup fiber cable was cut in New Jersey, leading to a ground stop at airports in Philadelphia, New York and New Jersey after a circuit failed.
FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said Philadelphia TRACON lost its primary circuit, and when controllers switched to a backup system, they discovered a broken fiber-optic cable.
Speaking to reporters earlier Monday, Duffy said "these are issues that aren't new to us."
"We know these problems can happen. We know these cuts can happen," Duffy said, adding that the department has been working to upgrade FAA equipment and its telecom architecture.
"As we work through all the new equipment, all the new architecture of our telecom, which is fans, it all takes money. That's why we have a holistic view of everything, including how we rework our telecom," Duffy said.
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A United Airlines Airbus A320 passenger jet taxis on the tarmac at LaGuardia Airport in the New York City borough of Queens on Sept. 7, 2016. (Robert Alexander/Getty Images)
Duffy said the work is being done before the department has secured all the necessary money, adding that "when we get the cash" the department will be able to hasten progress.
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"But this is not shocking," Duffy said of the equipment outage.
The FAA could not immediately be reached by FOX Business Monday afternoon for additional comment.