A technical failure involving air traffic control equipment has triggered ground stops at six major airports across the northeastern United States on Monday. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed that the disruption, which has impacted thousands of passengers, affects Newark Liberty, Philadelphia International, John F. Kennedy International, LaGuardia, Teterboro, and Westchester County airports.
Flight-tracking data from Flightradar24 identified significant operational challenges, particularly at Newark and Philadelphia, where average delays reached approximately 170 minutes and 60 minutes, respectively. By 1 pm local time, Newark airport had already recorded 92 cancellations and nearly 70 flight diversions. Newark officials advised travelers to reach out to their respective airlines for current flight status updates.
The root cause of the incident, according to the FAA, was a malfunction involving specific frequencies at the Philadelphia Terminal Radio Approach Control (TRACON). FAA administrator Bryan Bedford explained that the facility's primary circuit failed after a construction crew accidentally severed a backup fibre cable. Bedford stated that officials expected a new circuit to be fully operational by 1:30 pm on Monday.
In a separate incident, passengers in the United Kingdom also experienced widespread travel disruption on Monday. Air traffic control operator NATS reported a connectivity issue within its systems network at the Prestwick centre in Scotland. NATS confirmed that the problem was resolved and that they were actively working with airports and airlines to clear the resulting air traffic restrictions. The organization issued an apology to passengers for the inconvenience, noting that the UK incident was unrelated to technical issues experienced earlier this month.
