CGA Releases Statement Regarding Northeast Flight Disruptions

Buried utility damage disrupts air travel, underscoring the need to make damage prevention a national priority

On Sept. 21, operations at airports across the Northeast were severely disrupted after a backup communications system failed. The backup failure happened when a contractor severed a fiber optic line in New Jersey.

The damage caused delays to more than 4,000 flights, causing more than 500 flight cancellations and impacting hundreds of thousands of passengers across the country.

Damage to telecommunications utilities — including fiber optic lines — account for more than half of all reported buried utility damages. This makes them the single most frequently damaged category of buried infrastructure. This is according to the most recent Common Ground Alliance (CGA) data. Overall, damages to buried utility lines costs the U.S. an estimated $83.2 billion each year.

CGA president and CEO Sarah K. Magruder Lyle, a recognized expert on damage to buried utilities such as fiber optic lines, issued the following statement:

“This outage shows how quickly one cut fiber line can severely disrupt air travel across the country and impact daily life. More than 50 million miles of buried utility lines are the backbone of modern America, and when they’re damaged, the costs are measured not just in delays, but in safety risks and billions of dollars in losses. Preventing these strikes must be a national priority. These incidents are a stark reminder that infrastructure damage – whether to fiber, electric, natural gas, or water lines – cannot continue to be treated as an afterthought until a major incident occurs. It is an urgent public safety and economic issue that affects every American.”

Background

Major disruptions to communications and air traffic control impacts occurred at several airports Sept. 21, including Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR); John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK); LaGuardia Airport (LGA); Philadelphia International Airport (PHL); Teterboro Airport (TEB); and Boston Logan International Airport (BOS).

This incident follows similar critical incidents of fiber cuts in June 2025 in Florida and September 2025 at Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) and Dallas Love Field (DAL), ultimately affecting hundreds of flights.

SOURCE – CGA

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