A telecommunications failure tied to a severed fiber line disrupted
air travel across much of the Northeast on Monday, forcing the Federal
Aviation Administration to temporarily restrict flights into several
of the nation’s busiest airports. The disruption affected travelers
well beyond the region as delayed aircraft and crews created ripple
effects throughout the national aviation system.
The problem developed around 9:45 a.m. and interfered with
communications used by air traffic controllers, according to federal
officials. Ground stops and other traffic-management measures affected
airports including New York’s John F. Kennedy International and
LaGuardia airports, Newark Liberty International Airport, Philadelphia
International Airport and Boston Logan International Airport.
By Monday evening, roughly 7,000 U.S. flights had been delayed or
canceled, Reuters reported, including more than 1,400 flights
involving the major New York-area airports. The FAA said the
telecommunications problem was eventually resolved and airport
operations began returning toward normal later in the day.
Officials said the outage was traced to a fiber line in New Jersey
that was accidentally cut. Verizon and transportation workers assisted
federal aviation officials as crews worked to restore the
communications connection and reduce the backlog created by the
interruption.
The failure renewed concerns about aging components in the nation’s
air traffic control infrastructure. Transportation Secretary Sean
Duffy and FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford have been pressing for
modernization after a series of communications and equipment problems
exposed vulnerabilities in systems responsible for coordinating
millions of flights each year.
Congress has already approved billions of dollars for air traffic
control improvements, and federal transportation officials are seeking
additional funding for modernization. Monday’s disruption gives that
debate new urgency because a single telecommunications failure
affected major airports during a week of unusually heavy government
and diplomatic activity in New York.
