FAA halts flights to major US East Coast airports amid outage

By Al Jazeera Staff and Reuters. Published On 21 Sep 202621 Sep 2026.

Key points

• FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford remarked to journalists on Monday that it had "lost the primary circuit" at what is called Philadelphia TRACON, or Terminal Radar Approach Control.
• A ground stop was additionally issued at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey, a private airport neighbouring New York City.
• At Newark alone, more than 1, 000 flights had been delayed or cancelled.
• According to Bedford, the backup fibre had a break and stated to journalists that it could take up to 13 hours to repair.
• Flights that had been destined for Newark have either been held at their departure airport or diverted to alternative airports.

For context, the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has halted flights to a number of busy East Coast airports against the backdrop of an equipment outage, snarling more than 1, 000 flights.

As well as Boston Logan and Philadelphia International Airport, on Monday, the FAA issued ground stops at sizeable commercial airports, including New York's John F Kennedy International (JFK) and LaGuardia; Newark Liberty International in New Jersey.

In practice, the flights were halted on the day that 130 world leaders and dozens of ministers were arriving in New York for the annual high-level session of the United Nations General Assembly.

US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy remarked in a post on social media platform X that flights have resumed into New York's LaGuardia and into Philadelphia, but that ground stops are still in effect at Newark, JFK, and Teterboro Airport in New Jersey. The ground stop has additionally been lifted in Boston.

FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford remarked to journalists on Monday that it had "lost the primary circuit" at what is called Philadelphia TRACON, or Terminal Radar Approach Control. It controls air traffic into Philadelphia and airports throughout the busy northeast US airspace.

According to Bedford, the backup fibre had a break and stated to journalists that it could take up to 13 hours to repair. He remarked the cut was between the city of New Brunswick, New Jersey, and Newark, New Jersey. It is home to Newark Liberty International Airport.

"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 remarked in a post on X.

At Newark alone, more than 1, 000 flights had been delayed or cancelled. Throughout the US, there were almost 4, 000 delayed flights and 500 cancelled.

United Airlines remarked it would waive change fees for impacted travellers. Newark serves as a major hub for the airline.

"Flights that had been destined for Newark have either been held at their departure airport or diverted to alternative airports. Once the FAA outage is resolved, we will work to safely obtain our customers to their destinations and have issued a travel waiver to provide our customers flexibility to manage their travel intends, " a representative for United Airlines remarked in an official note provided to Al Jazeera.

Newark has recorded the highest levels of delays and cancellations of any airport, according to FlightAware. It tracks flight disruptions in real time. As of 3pm Eastern Time in the US (19: 00 GMT), 31 percent of departing flights from Newark had been cancelled, along with 29 percent of inbound flights. As had 17 percent of inbound flights, meanwhile, 17 percent of departing flights from the United hub had been delayed.

Meanwhile, a ground stop was additionally issued at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey, a private airport neighbouring New York City.

Taken together, the developments around FAA halts flights to major US East Coast airports amid outage point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.