FAA halts flights in Northeast after fiber cable cut in NJ

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) halted flights at multiple airports in the Northeast on Monday, citing the accidental cutting of a fiber cable at a construction site in New Jersey.

Ground stops were originally in effect at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in Queens, N.Y.; Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR); Philadelphia International Airport (PHL); and Teterboro Airport (TEB) in New Jersey, according to the FAA’s National Airspace System Status page.

Ground delays, meanwhile, were in effect at LaGuardia Airport (LGA) in Queens, Boston Logan International Airport (BOS), and PHL. Flights departing LGA, BOS and PHL were delayed by an average of 44 minutes, 105 minutes and 212 minutes, respectively.

Bryan Bedford, the administrator of the FAA, said Monday the 600-foot fiber cable cut occurred “somewhere between” New Brunswick and Newark, N.J.

“Somebody dug it up,” Bedford told reporters, as captured on video by CBS News’s Kris Van Cleave. The FAA administrator later said the fiber cable was cut earlier Monday.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said an Amtrak construction crew accidentally cut into the fiber line, causing a “telecom outage” and the subsequent flight disruptions. Duffy noted flights would resume out of LGA and PHL but remain paused out of EWR, JFK and TEB.

“This incident underscores the need for additional funding to modernize aging infrastructure and prevent disruptions like this in the future,” Duffy wrote on social media Monday.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, — which President Trump signed into law last year — provided the FAA with $12.5 billion to modernize the national air traffic control system. Officials from the aviation agency have asked for an additional $10 billion from Congress to upgrade the air traffic control system.

The ground stops and delays at New York City-area airports are in effect as world leaders, including Trump, are descending on the Big Apple for the United Nations General Assembly this week.

The stoppages and delays have placed a strain on other airports in the region. Later Monday afternoon, the FAA imposed a ground stop at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) until at least 4 p.m. EDT.

At EWR, roughly 1 in 3 departing flights were canceled, according to data from FlightAware. Another 96 flights scheduled to leave Newark were delayed, accounting for 17 percent of departures, per FlightAware.