Updated 2 hours ago - Technology

Delays plague Northeast airports after construction mishap

Avery Lotz

Illustration of an airplane on a runway shaped like a "no" symbol. — Illustration: Gabriella Turrisi/Axios

An equipment outage scrambled flights across the Northeast on Monday, forcing ground stops and delaying travel for hours.

Some pauses remained ongoing as of the early afternoon.

The big picture: The disruption grounded flights into some of the region's busiest airports, including into New York as world leaders gather for the UN General Assembly.

The latest: Flights were resuming at LaGuardia and Philadelphia International airports, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on X Monday afternoon.

But he said flights into Newark International, John F. Kennedy International and Teterboro airports remained paused.
Boston's Logan International also was under a ground delay earlier Monday afternoon due to volume as the airport took diverted flights from Philadelphia.

What they're saying: FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford attributed the delay to a construction issue that damaged air-traffic control fiber lines.

Duffy revealed that an Amtrak construction crew had accidentally into the line in New Jersey, causing a telecom outage.
"This incident underscores the need for additional funding to modernize aging infrastructure and prevent disruptions like this in the future," he said.

Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional details throughout.

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Delays plague Northeast airports after construction mishap

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