Fiber cut grounds flights at Newark, Philadelphia airports

A construction crew working near central New Jersey severed a Verizon fiber-optic cable on Monday, knocking out the backup radio and radar feed for the Philadelphia Terminal Radar Approach Control facility that guides arrivals and departures at Newark Liberty International, Philadelphia International, and New York’s JFK and LaGuardia airports. The primary circuit had already failed, leaving controllers without either system for roughly an hour before service was restored.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the line was repaired by late afternoon and that all affected airports had resumed normal operations, though clearing the backlog would take additional time. Newark recorded more than 500 cancellations—nearly half its schedule—plus over 200 delays; Philadelphia, JFK, and LaGuardia also saw hundreds of flights postponed or diverted to cities including Detroit, Pittsburgh, Boston, and Orlando. International arrivals from Europe were among those turned back mid-Atlantic.

By Tuesday morning the picture had improved sharply. FlightAware data showed 58 cancellations at Newark, about 5 percent of the day’s flights, and 30 at Philadelphia, roughly 2 percent. United Airlines offered flight attendants extra pay to cover Newark trips. The FAA has not released a final count of diverted aircraft or total passengers affected.

New Jersey Transit confirmed its contractor accidentally cut the cable while working about ten feet from utility markings. Verizon stated the line belonged to it but that its own technicians were not responsible for the cut. Amtrak said the work occurred on NJ Transit property and involved an NJ Transit contractor. No airline compensation policy has been announced; travelers holding credit-card purchases may seek reimbursement under existing trip-delay protections.