Air travel across the United States was thrown into chaos on Monday after a major equipment outage forced a complete halt to flights at two key Northeast airports.
More than 900 flights have been cancelled and over 5,000 delayed nationwide, with Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey and Philadelphia International Airport in Pennsylvania bearing the brunt of the disruption.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the crisis started when a circuit blew at an air traffic control facility in Philadelphia on Monday morning.
FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said when technicians switched to the backup system, they discovered the backup line in New Jersey had also been cut.
To replace the blown circuit in Philadelphia, Bedford said officials had to close airspace across the Northeast for at least 30 minutes. The closure triggered ground stops that were extended to New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport and LaGuardia Airport.
While airspace has since reopened at JFK and LaGuardia, the attempted repair in Philadelphia failed, leaving flight operations still suspended at Philadelphia and Newark with no estimated time for resumption.
The outage has triggered a ripple effect across the entire U.S. airspace system, leading to widespread diversions, cancellations and delays.
United Airlines, which operates a major hub at Newark, announced Monday afternoon that it is canceling all remaining domestic mainline and United Express flights to and from Newark for the rest of the day. The airline said it will prioritize international departures.
