US halts flights at busy East Coast airports, says fiber line cut

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) temporarily halted flights at several major U.S. East Coast airports on September 21, 2026, following a critical communication failure. Authorities identified the root cause as a severed fiber-optic cable, which disrupted essential data transmission systems used for air traffic control. The outage led to significant delays and cancellations across the region, impacting thousands of passengers during peak travel hours. While the FAA worked to restore full operational capacity, the incident highlighted the vulnerability of critical national infrastructure to physical damage. Technicians were dispatched to repair the damaged line, and the agency implemented contingency protocols to manage flight paths safely. This event has prompted discussions regarding the resilience of aviation communication networks and the necessity of redundant infrastructure to prevent similar disruptions in the future. Normal operations gradually resumed as the connection was restored.