Cut Verizon Cable Halts Flights Into Newark, New York and Philadelphia

A Verizon fiber cable sliced by construction crews in New Jersey threw air travel across the New York area and Philadelphia into disarray on Monday.

The Federal Aviation Administration delayed or canceled hundreds of flights headed to Newark, New Jersey, and Philadelphia, and sent close to 70 planes to other airports. By 1 p.m. ET, the trouble had reached New York City, where the FAA stopped flights into LaGuardia and John F. Kennedy International Airport.

Verizon said contractors working near an Amtrak rail line dug up and cut its cable, adding that its facilities had been fully functional beforehand and that it bore no responsibility. The company said it sent technicians to the scene right away and was working to repair the cable and restore connectivity as fast as possible.

The FAA attributed the halt at Newark Liberty International Airport, United Airlines' busiest international hub, along with Philadelphia International and New Jersey's Teterboro Airport, to issues with some frequencies at Philadelphia TRACON, the facility that guides planes in and out of Newark and Philadelphia.

United waived change fees for affected travelers. About 250 flights in and out of Newark were delayed, more than a fifth of the day's schedule, according to FlightAware. Flightradar24 reported that 67 flights bound for Newark were diverted as of about 1 p.m. ET, including international arrivals from Iceland, Egypt, Greece, Spain and France. A United flight from Berlin went to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, while an SAS flight from Stockholm was sent to Washington Dulles International Airport.

Aging air traffic control equipment has frustrated airline executives for years, and the Trump administration announced a multibillion-dollar overhaul last year. On Monday, the Transportation Department and FAA unveiled a new artificial intelligence-powered tool to analyze data and reduce delays, starting in Washington, D.C.