Ground stops lifted at Philadelphia International after fiber line severed in New Jersey
Ground stops lifted at Philadelphia airport after cable cut
Flights into Philadelphia International Airport and several other Northeast airports were halted Monday after officials said a construction crew severed a fiber-optic cable vital to communications.
PHILADELPHIA - Flights at Philadelphia International Airport began resuming Monday after an equipment outage led to a ground stop that affected several major airports in the Northeast, according to U.S. Secretary Sean Duffy. Authorities say the disruption resulted from a fiber-optic cable accidentally cut by a construction crew in New Jersey.
How the outage impacted Northeast airports and travelers
What we know:
Philadelphia International Airport issued a ground stop just before 10:00 a.m. Monday due to an equipment outage, according to an alert posted to the National Aviation Administration's website. The alert read, "Departures to Philadelphia International Airport are grounded due to equipment outage."
A fiber line cut by an Amtrak construction crew in New Jersey led the Federal Aviation Administration to halt flights into airports including Philadelphia International, Newark Liberty International, and Teterboro Monday morning, Secretary Duffy said. Delays at Philadelphia International Airport averaged 3 hours and 32 minutes for arriving flights, according to Air Traffic Control Alerts. FlightAware reported more than 300 flight delays and 43 cancellations at the airport.
Flights at LaGuardia and Philadelphia International Airport began resuming after the pause, according to Secretary Duffy. Flights into Newark, John F. Kennedy International, and Teterboro Airport remained on hold as of Monday afternoon.
The backstory:
According to NJ TRANSIT, the incident happened at approximately 9:45 a.m. Monday when a construction crew working on the Delco Lead project between New Brunswick and North Brunswick accidentally severed a fiber-optic cable.
Early findings show the crew was about 10 feet from utility markings at the site. NJ TRANSIT staff and partners are working to identify whether Verizon or the contractor handled the utility markings, the agency said.
NJ TRANSIT reported 36 out of 56 fiber cables had been restored and expected those to come online shortly. The remaining cables are being tested.
Secretary Duffy noted this incident "underscores the need for additional funding to modernize aging infrastructure and prevent disruptions like this in the future."
What you can do:
The FAA recommended travelers check directly with airports or airlines for real-time updates as work continued to resolve the situation.
What we don't know:
A timeline for when all airport operations and schedules will return to normal has not been reported.
The Source: This article contains information from statements by U.S. Secretary Sean Duffy, alerts from the FAA and Air Traffic Control Alerts, and updates from the National Aviation Administration and FlightAware.