Fiber-optic cable cut in New Jersey disrupts flights at Newark, JFK and LaGuardia
A severed fiber-optic cable in New Jersey caused cancellations and delays at three New York-area airports on Tuesday, with officials investigating the cause of the outage.
A fiber-optic cable was cut on Monday morning in New Jersey, triggering a telecom outage that affected air travel at Newark Liberty International Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport and LaGuardia Airport on Tuesday. Flight tracking data showed that by 9 a.m., Newark had 58 cancellations and 53 delays, JFK reported seven cancellations and 46 delays, and LaGuardia recorded four cancellations and 16 delays.
U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy attributed the incident to an Amtrak construction crew, saying it forced the Federal Aviation Administration to halt flights in the Northeast.
NJ Transit later clarified that its own construction crew severed the cable while working on the Delco Lead project between New Brunswick and North Brunswick. The crew was operating 10 feet from utility markings and is investigating whether Verizon or another contractor mis-marked the utilities, leading the crew to believe the area was free of cables. NJ Transit said the damaged line was a backup to the primary circuit, which had already failed.
More than half of the 56 affected fiber cables have been tested and are being restored, according to NJ Transit, which has staff on site to complete repairs. Verizon and Amtrak have not responded to requests for comment.