The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) stated on Monday (September 21) that equipment malfunctions led to flight suspensions and delays at several major airports including Newark Liberty International Airport and Philadelphia International Airport.
According to a statement provided earlier by the FAA to Fox News, “Due to radio frequency issues at the Philadelphia TRACON, FAA is temporarily halting flights to Philadelphia International Airport, Teterboro Airport, and Newark Liberty International Airport.”
The Terminal Radar Approach Control system (TRACON) is used to guide aircraft during takeoff and landing.
Since the issuance of the statement, John F. Kennedy International Airport, LaGuardia Airport, and Westchester County Airport have also implemented flight stoppages due to equipment malfunctions as per the FAA website.
As per FAA’s website, as of 3:07 PM Eastern Time, both Newark Liberty International Airport and Teterboro Airport are under a ground stop, while John F. Kennedy International Airport, LaGuardia Airport, and Philadelphia International Airport are experiencing ground delays due to equipment malfunctions.
FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford stated that a primary communication line in the Philadelphia TRACON system experienced a fault, and when they switched to a backup line, they discovered that the fiber optic line had been severed.
However, repairing the severed fiber optic line is estimated to take about 13 hours. “It’s a massive undertaking,” Bedford said.
He also mentioned that the 600-foot (183-meter) severed fiber optic line was accidentally damaged during “construction.”
“Someone managed to cut it,” Bedford said.
US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy stated that a construction crew from Amtrak accidentally severed a fiber optic line in New Jersey, causing a communication outage that led to FAA’s partial flights suspension in the northeast.
“These issues are not unfamiliar to us,” he added, noting that the Department of Transportation has been dedicated to upgrading FAA equipment and telecommunication infrastructure.
Several major airports in the US have warned passengers to be aware of flight delay situations. Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) posted on the social media platform X, saying, “Due to FAA equipment malfunctions, flights in and out of EWR are currently experiencing delays. Please contact your airline for flight status.”
John F. Kennedy International Airport and Boston Logan International Airport also issued similar flight delay messages on X platform.