FAA imposes ground stops at Newark and regional airports due to equipment outage
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered ground stops at Newark, Teterboro, Philadelphia, JFK and LaGuardia airports after a shared communications circuit failed, with service expected to resume later in the afternoon.
The Federal Aviation Administration placed a full ground stop at Newark Liberty International Airport and extended the restriction to nearby Teterboro and Philadelphia International airports around 10 a.m. Monday after an equipment outage disrupted a shared Verizon communication circuit. By early afternoon, the order was also applied to JFK and LaGuardia, although LaGuardia later shifted to a ground-delay status.
FAA spokesperson Bryan Bedford said the older Verizon circuit that linked the three airports failed, and when it attempted to switch to a backup, crews discovered a break in a backup fiber cable between Newark and New Brunswick. The repair is expected to take about 13 hours.
Flight tracking data showed dozens of aircraft queued on Newark runways before returning to gates. Service estimates for Newark and Teterboro were repeatedly pushed back, most recently to 2:45 p.m., while JFK’s restriction was slated to lift around 3 p.m. LaGuardia resumed operations within an hour, though delays of roughly 44 minutes persisted.