Newark, JFK and LaGuardia still reeling two days after NJ cable cut knocked out air traffic control

Two days after a construction crew accidentally cut a fiber-optic cable in New Jersey and knocked out communications at a critical air traffic control facility, New York's three major airports were still working through cascading delays and cancellations on September 23, 2026 — with travel analysts warning that the disruption could stretch into the middle of the week.

As of 9 a.m. on September 22, Newark Liberty International Airport — which bore the heaviest blow — had 58 flights canceled and 53 delayed, according to FlightAware data cited by Gothamist. JFK had 7 cancellations and 46 delays; LaGuardia had 4 cancellations and 16 delays.

The trouble began around 9:45 a.m. on Monday, September 21, when the primary data circuit serving the Federal Aviation Administration's Philadelphia Terminal Radar Approach Control facility — known as Philadelphia TRACON — failed. The system automatically switched to a backup fiber-optic line, but that cable had been severed minutes earlier by an NJ Transit construction crew working on the Delco Lead rail project between New Brunswick and North Brunswick, New Jersey, according to NJ Transit's statement to CNN.

Philadelphia TRACON manages approach and departure flows for a wide swath of the Northeast, including Newark, JFK and LaGuardia, as well as Philadelphia International and Teterboro airports. With both its primary circuit and its backup simultaneously down, the FAA imposed ground stops across all five airports, effectively halting the flow of one of the world's busiest air corridors.

Yeah, man, nothing works. People are getting out, but it's slow going.— Air traffic controller, Philadelphia International Airport

Newark absorbed the worst of it. According to flight-tracking data cited by The Traveler, virtually no commercial flights landed at the airport from roughly 9:40 a.m. until shortly after 5:20 p.m. on September 21 — a window of nearly eight hours. By Monday evening, more than 300 flights had been canceled at Newark, accounting for more than half of the airport's scheduled departures that day, making it the most canceled airport in the world on September 21 according to FlightAware data cited by CNN.

The ground stops were lifted by late September 21 after repairs were completed, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced. But the operational backlog — aircraft and crews out of position across the country — proved far harder to clear than the physical cable break.

It will take some time to clear all existing delays, so please check with your airline for the latest information.— Sean Duffy, Transportation Secretary

The question of who is responsible for the cable cut remains under investigation. NJ Transit said its crew had been operating about 10 feet away from utility markings at the site and was looking into whether Verizon or another contractor had mis-marked the utilities, leading workers to believe they were in a cable-free zone. Verizon pushed back, telling CNN that 'construction contractors working in the area dug up and cut our cable' and that 'our cables were properly placed.' Duffy initially pointed the finger at an Amtrak construction crew before NJ Transit clarified that its own crew was responsible.

We will continue to work closely with Verizon and the contractor as the circumstances surrounding the incident are being investigated.— NJ Transit

The incident has reignited a longer-running debate about the resilience of FAA infrastructure. FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford told CNN affiliate WUSA that the primary circuit that failed had already been slated for replacement, and that officials only discovered the break in the backup fiber when the system tried to switch over. Bedford described the underlying problem in blunt terms.

We're pulling copper up and putting fiber down, but it's the same data architecture that we've had for 50 years. The FAA wants to replace that architecture with a new modern federal enterprise network system, and we need budget for that.— Bryan Bedford, FAA Administrator

This incident underscores the need for additional funding to modernize aging infrastructure and prevent disruptions like this in the future.— Sean Duffy, Transportation Secretary

This is not the first time Philadelphia TRACON has been at the center of a disruption. Last May, the facility experienced a roughly two-second radio outage, coming days after a separate outage prompted a ground stop for Newark-bound flights. Those incidents followed the FAA's move of the facility from Long Island to Philadelphia the previous summer — a relocation officials said at the time would reduce outages. After last year's problems, the Department of Transportation introduced a new fiber-optic cable between Philadelphia and New York specifically to improve telecommunications resilience at the facility, according to CNN.

The timing added a diplomatic dimension to the travel chaos: world leaders had gathered in New York for the United Nations General Assembly beginning Tuesday, September 22. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's arrival in New York City was delayed because of the system failure, and he missed a previously scheduled summit, his office told CNN.

For travelers still caught in the backlog, industry analysts cited by The Traveler say the most disrupted period is likely to extend at least through the middle of the week. Morning departures on September 23 and 24 are seen as particularly vulnerable because they depend on aircraft that were supposed to arrive during evening and late-night banks on the days before. Airlines have advised passengers to check flight status before heading to the airport, allow extra time for connections — especially at Newark, where hub schedules remain imbalanced — and consider alternative airports such as Philadelphia and Hartford where itineraries allow.

Why it matters — The incident exposed how a single construction error can simultaneously knock out both the primary and backup communications for a facility that controls air traffic across the entire Northeast — and how the resulting backlog can strand travelers for days.

Sources differ on Which crew severed the fiber cable: An Amtrak construction crew was responsible (Sean Duffy via gothamist.com / cnn.com (initial claim)) vs An NJ Transit construction crew working on the Delco Lead project was responsible (gothamist.com / cnn.com (NJ Transit clarification))

Sources differ on Responsibility for utility mis-marking at the dig site: NJ Transit is investigating whether Verizon or another contractor mis-marked the utilities (gothamist.com) vs Verizon says its cables were properly placed and contractors are responsible for calling for correct markings (cnn.com)

Reported by gothamist.com, cnn.com, thetraveler.org