A telecommunications problem affecting an air traffic control facility has disrupted flights at several major airports in the northeastern United States, including New York’s John F Kennedy International Airport (JFK), LaGuardia Airport and Boston Logan International Airport.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued ground stops affecting incoming flights at JFK, LaGuardia and Boston, alongside Newark Liberty International, Philadelphia International and Teterboro airports in New Jersey.
The disruption was linked to issues with some communication frequencies at the Philadelphia Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) facility.
The FAA temporarily halted some incoming flights as it worked to resolve the problem. The agency initially said the ground stop affecting Newark and Philadelphia would remain in place until at least 12:45 local time on Monday.
More than 300 flights at Newark and Philadelphia, or about 15% of flights, had been delayed, according to flight-tracking website FlightAware.
“The FAA is pausing flights into Philadelphia International, Teterboro and Newark Liberty International airports due to issues with some frequencies at Philadelphia TRACON,” an agency spokesperson said.
TRACON facilities use radar and radio communications to guide aircraft approaching and departing airports.
Newark is a major hub for United Airlines, while Philadelphia is a hub for American Airlines.
The disruption comes as airports in the UK also face flight problems following a separate connectivity issue at Nats’ Prestwick centre in Scotland. Flights at Edinburgh, Leeds Bradford, Belfast and Manchester airports were affected on Monday.
The UK disruption followed a separate software fault on 8 September that caused widespread air travel problems.
This is a Developing Story and will be updated soon