Flights grounded at major airports in US after construction worker cut cable

Flights have been grounded at major US airports due to a 'massive' circuit failure.

US aviation officials say a 'circuit failed,' leading to the discovery of a backup fibre circuit, which had been damaged by construction crews in New Jersey, the BBC reports.

It is said that a repair would take around 13 hours to complete.

On Monday afternoon, ground stops were issued at Newark Liberty, Philadelphia International, John F. Kennedy International, LaGuardia, Teterboro, and Westchester County airport, as per the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

US Federal Aviation Administration tracking systems show that the delays, and ground stops, have not been resolved.

JFK is one of the airports affected (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

"Due to an FAA equipment outage, arrivals and departures are currently experiencing delays at #JFK. Please contact your airline for flight status," New York's JFK X, formerly known as Twitter account, read.

Aviation administrator Bryan Bedford, who spoke to reporters, as per the BBC, confirmed that the cut fiber line, which was damaged during construction, was 600ft long. He added that: "Someone dug it up".

However, it's not a new problem, US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said.

Confirming the cause, he penned on X: "An Amtrak construction crew accidentally cut into a fiber line in New Jersey, which caused a telecom outage and forced FAA to pause flights in the Northeast."

He confirmed that 'Flights are resuming at LGA and PHL,' while 'Flights into EWR, JFK, and Teterboro Airport are paused'.

"This incident underscores the need for additional funding to modernize aging infrastructure and prevent disruptions like this in the future," he concluded.