Severed fiber cable grounds 5,600 US flights during UN General Assembly
An Amtrak crew's accidental fiber cable cut disrupted over 5,600 US flights.
An Amtrak construction crew accidentally cut a fiber-optic cable in New Jersey, forcing the FAA to stop incoming flights at major airports in New York, Boston and Philadelphia. More than 5,600 flights were delayed or cancelled.
The disruption happened when 130 world leaders arrived for the United Nations General Assembly. At one point all three major New York-area airports halted incoming traffic.
Newark and Philadelphia are major hubs for United Airlines and American Airlines.
- 5,600
- Flights delayed or cancelled
- 130
- World leaders arriving
- over 100
- Flights diverted
Why it mattersThe outage showed how a failed telecom circuit and a cut fiber cable can disrupt the entire US air traffic system. It affected thousands of passengers.
AustraliaAustralian travellers bound for the US East Coast faced cancellations and delays; the incident may affect future flights via affected airports.
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 3 d ago
