Air traffic operations across the New York region have returned to normal after communication failures disrupted flights at Newark, JFK, LaGuardia, Philadelphia and Teterboro airports. Both the primary and backup systems involved in the disruption have now been repaired.
The backup fiber-optic line in New Jersey was rerouted onto an existing line, while the connection at Philadelphia TRACON, which manages aircraft movements around Newark and Philadelphia, was also restored. The backup fiber had been damaged by a contractor working near New Brunswick.
The outage caused thousands of delays and cancellations, with Newark alone cancelling more than 500 flights. More than 70 flights were diverted, while other airports also faced temporary restrictions due to the disruption. Operations have now resumed, although some residual delays and cancellations remained as airlines repositioned aircraft and crews.
