Flights Halted at U.S. Airports Due to Major Technical Failure in Communication System

The United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) temporarily halted flights at several major eastern-seaboard airports due to a widespread technical failure in the communications system.

According to media reports, the outage led to widespread disruption to air travel across the country. As of Monday, more than 5,6 thousand flights were delayed or canceled, including about 1,2 thousand in the New York area. Over 100 flights had to be diverted to other airports. The problem originated in the Philadelphia TRACON air traffic control center, which manages air traffic. FAA information indicated that the main communications line had failed. When technicians attempted to switch to a backup system, it turned out that the backup fiber optic cable had been accidentally damaged by a construction crew in New Jersey. Due to the lack of proper communications, the FAA temporarily restricted the use of airspace in the northeastern United States. The restrictions affected the three major New York airports—JFK, LaGuardia, and Newark—as well as Philadelphia and Boston airports. Temporary restrictions also applied to a number of smaller regional airports. The outage occurred on the day the United Nations General Assembly began its high-level week, with around 130 world leaders and dozens of ministers arriving in New York. This further complicated the aviation situation. FAA said restoration of system operations was proceeding gradually, but full recovery of air travel depended on when technicians could guarantee the safe operation of the communication systems.

Note that mass outages in civil aviation in the United States are not unprecedented. Authorities previously ordered an investigation. As is known, in Europe aircraft often do not receive GPS signals, which negatively affects flights. Researchers have shown that this matter is Russia's doing.