Flight restrictions hit major eastern US airports after cable is cut

The US Federal Aviation Administration halted flights at several busy East Coast airports on Monday after a fibre cable was accidentally cut at a construction site in New Jersey, the South China Morning Post reports. Ground stops were issued for John F. Kennedy International Airport and LaGuardia Airport in New York, as well as an airport in Teterboro, New Jersey.

The source said the disruption also affected airports in the Philadelphia and Boston areas, although it did not specify the measures applied at each airport. The incident occurred as 130 world leaders and dozens of ministers were arriving in New York for the annual high-level meeting of the United Nations General Assembly. The report did not state how long the flight restrictions lasted or how many flights and passengers were affected.

The FAA attributed the disruption to the accidental cutting of the fibre cable at the New Jersey construction site. The supplied material did not identify the cable’s owner, explain what systems it supported or provide details of the repair effort. The available report ends after identifying the FAA administrator and contains no further information about the cause of the cable damage, the resumption of flights or any continuing delays.