- The FAA issued a ground stop at Newark, Philadelphia, and Teterboro after a communications outage hit Philadelphia TRACON.
- Newark departures saw delays of 45 to 105 minutes, with average delays reaching 150 minutes by 12:07 p.m.
- The disruption later spread to JFK and LaGuardia, while more than 600 flights were delayed across Newark and Philadelphia.
The Federal Aviation Administration issued a ground stop Monday at Newark Liberty International Airport, Philadelphia International Airport and Teterboro Airport after an equipment outage disrupted air traffic control communications in the region.
Controllers reported radio problems at Philadelphia TRACON, which directs aircraft approaching and departing the three airports. The outage immediately affected departures most sharply.
Outbound delays reached 46 to 60 minutes and were “and increasing,” the agency said. Arrivals faced delays of 15 minutes or less in the earlier advisories, while Newark departures were about 45 minutes late.
The problem involved two communications paths. FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said the primary circuit failed, then the backup line broke as well.
“That fiber break is probably 13 hours to repair. It's massive, I'm told,”
Bedford said the break occurred somewhere between New Brunswick and Newark. The agency was installing a new circuit.
An FAA spokesperson described the operational response this way:
“The FAA is pausing flights into Philadelphia International, Teterboro and Newark Liberty International airports due to issues with some frequencies at Philadelphia TRACON.”
The timing changed repeatedly through the day. Officials initially expected the pause to end by 11:15 a.m., while Philadelphia’s first hold notice ran until 11:45 a.m. Newark’s earliest posted end time was 1:45 p.m., with a 30% to 60% chance of an extension.
Later updates pushed Newark’s stop to at least 2:45 p.m. The airport advised passengers to check directly with their airlines.
Delays worsened as the airport holds continued
| Airport | Reported impact | Timing or additional detail |
|---|---|---|
| Newark Liberty International Airport | Departures delayed 45 to 105 minutes in successive updates | Average delay reached 150 minutes at 12:07 p.m. |
| Philadelphia International Airport | Average departure delay of 60 minutes and rising | The airport remained part of the initial pause |
| Teterboro Airport | Delays exceeding 255 minutes in one update | Flights were paused because of the frequency problems |
The figures shifted as controllers managed the reduced communications capacity. Newark’s average departure delay climbed well beyond the roughly 45-minute estimate cited in an earlier advisory.
By midday, the outage had produced dozens of delays, multiple cancellations and diversions. One update counted roughly 250 delayed Newark flights and about 67 inbound flights diverted away from the airport.
Flight-tracking data later showed about 92 Newark cancellations and nearly 70 diversions around 1 p.m. Some diverted aircraft had been returning internationally from Iceland, Greece, Spain and France.
The outage sent aircraft away from Newark
The disruption strained a major Northeast air corridor. Newark is a major United Airlines hub, while Philadelphia is a hub for American Airlines, putting connecting passengers and airline operations under pressure at both airports.
The two airports also handled different layers of the same problem. Philadelphia TRACON, a Terminal Radar Approach Control facility, uses radar and radio communications to manage aircraft near the airports rather than flights across the entire country.
One account attributed the failure to a fiber cable accidentally cut at a construction site in New Jersey. Bedford’s estimate of roughly 13 hours to repair the break indicated that the operational effects could outlast the initial airport holds.
The airport’s public message remained direct:
The disruption later reached two New York airports
Later updates extended the effects to JFK and LaGuardia, where ground stops were also issued. The additional holds widened the disruption beyond the three airports named in the first FAA notice.
Another update said more than 600 flights at Newark and Philadelphia had been delayed, representing more than 20% of the combined schedules. The totals included flights already delayed before later airport restrictions took effect.
Newark’s repeated extensions left passengers facing changing departure estimates rather than one fixed reopening time. The agency’s earlier 30% to 60% extension probability underscored that uncertainty.
The outage also created pressure on inbound aircraft. Diversions involving international flights returning from Europe added extra coordination for passengers, crews and airlines, while shorter arrival delays had been reported in the first advisories.
Airlines remained the source of individual booking updates as the situation developed. Passengers scheduled through Newark, Philadelphia, Teterboro, JFK or LaGuardia should check their carrier’s status before traveling, particularly after the Newark stop moved to at least 2:45 p.m.
