A Verizon cable that was cut in New Jersey during construction disrupted hundreds of flights to and from the New York area and Philadelphia on Monday.
The Federal Aviation Administration halted flights bound for Newark, New Jersey, and Philadelphia and forced close to 70 planes to divert to other airports because of the issue. Hundreds of flights at those two airports ended up getting canceled.
As of 1 p.m. ET, the disruptions had spread to New York City, where flights into LaGuardia Airport and John F. Kennedy International Airport were also halted by the FAA.
“We have a fiber cable running adjacent to an Amtrak rail line in New Jersey. Construction contractors working in the area dug up and cut our cable,” Verizon said in a statement. “Verizon’s facilities were fully functional up to that point. Verizon bears no responsibility for this incident.”
The company said it “immediately deployed our technicians to the scene” and added that it was “actively working to repair the damaged cable and restore connectivity as quickly as possible.”
The FAA earlier said it had halted flights into Newark Liberty International Airport, United Airlines‘ busiest international hub, as well as Philadelphia International Airport and New Jersey’s Teterboro Airport “due to issues with some frequencies at Philadelphia TRACON.”
That Terminal Radar Approach Control, or TRACON, facility, guides planes in and out of Newark and Philadelphia.
United waived flight change fees for travelers affected by the disruption. American Airlines, which operates a hub out of Philadelphia, also waived change fees and allowed customers to fly out of other airports.
More than 400 flights in and out of Newark were canceled Monday, more than a quarter of the day’s schedule, according to FlightAware, while another 200 were delayed. Nearly 400 Philadelphia flights were delayed.
As of about 1 p.m. ET, 67 flights bound for Newark were forced to divert, according to Flightradar24, including international flights from Iceland, Egypt, Greece, Spain and France.
A United flight from Berlin diverted to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, while an SAS flight from Stockholm bound for Newark was sent to Washington Dulles International Airport.
Aging air traffic control equipment and technology issues have vexed airline executives for years. The Trump administration last year announced a multibillion-dollar overhaul of U.S. air traffic control equipment and resources.
On Monday, the Transportation Department and FAA unveiled a new artificial intelligence-powered tool meant to analyze data to minimize flight delays, rolling it out first in Washington, D.C.
The incident happened hours before President Donald Trump and a host of international leaders are scheduled to arrive in New York for the United Nations General Assembly.
