ATC communications failure in Philadelphia disrupts New York-area flights

A communications failure at an air traffic control facility in Philadelphia disrupted flights across the New York area on September 21, 2026, prompting the Federal Aviation Administration to limit arrivals at several major airports.

John F. Kennedy International, LaGuardia, Newark Liberty International, Philadelphia International and Teterboro Airport in New Jersey were all affected. Ground stops started at Newark, Teterboro and Philadelphia at about 10:00 local time, with JFK and LaGuardia following later. By roughly 15:00, JFK and LaGuardia had shifted to ground delay programs while restrictions stayed in place at Newark and Teterboro.

FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said the Philadelphia Terminal Radar Approach Control facility lost its primary communications circuit. A backup fiber-optic link running between New Brunswick and Newark, New Jersey, had also been cut during separate construction work.

With radar data and radio communications unavailable, controllers had to cap traffic volumes. About 90 flights were diverted right after communications went down. The disruption coincided with world leaders arriving in New York for the United Nations General Assembly.

The same Philadelphia facility was tied to communications outages that affected Newark flights in 2025. Congress approved $12.5 billion last year to modernise US air traffic control infrastructure and fund controller hiring.

Work was under way to fit a replacement circuit and restore the damaged backup connection.