What Happened
Air Traffic Control Outage Causes Widespread Delays in Northeast
A communications failure at the Philadelphia air traffic control facility caused widespread disruptions to flights across the New York area on September 21, 2026. The outage affected several major airports, including JFK, LGA, and EWR, with ground stops and ground delay programs implemented to manage traffic. According to FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford, the facility lost its primary communications circuit and a backup fiber-optic connection was severed during construction work. The incident occurred as world leaders traveled to New York for the United Nations General Assembly and follows previous communications outages at the Philadelphia facility. This incident was first reported by AeroTime.