Fiber cable cut in New Jersey grounds Northeast flights

A severed fiber optic cable in New Jersey disrupted air traffic across the Northeast on Monday, September 21, 2026, forcing ground stops at major airports and causing delays that persisted into Tuesday. The Federal Aviation Administration halted flights at John F. Kennedy, LaGuardia, Newark, Teterboro, Philadelphia and Boston airports after the cable was cut at a construction site. Flights into and out of the region were grounded for a time, and operations at Newark, Kennedy and Teterboro remained suspended into Monday afternoon, while LaGuardia and Philadelphia had resumed with heavy delays. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy initially attributed the cut to an Amtrak construction crew. NJ Transit said early Tuesday that its own construction crew accidentally severed the cable while working on the Delco Lead project between New Brunswick and North Brunswick at approximately 9:45 a.m. Monday. NJ Transit said its crew had been operating about 10 feet from utility markings at the site and that it was investigating whether Verizon or another contractor mismarked the utilities.