Hundreds of Passenger Flights Canceled at Northeastern U.S. Airports, Including New York; Canadian Prime Minister’s United Nations (UN) Schedule Disrupted

[Financial News] Hundreds of flights were canceled on the 21st (local time) at airports across the northeastern United States, including major airports in the New York metropolitan area such as LaGuardia Airport and John F. Kennedy International Airport. The cancellations were reportedly caused by an incident in which communications lines connecting to air traffic control centers were severed.
At Newark Liberty International Airport, commercial flights were almost completely suspended for a time, with about 600 departures and arrivals canceled. According to flight-tracking website Flightradar24, commercial aircraft landings at the airport were completely suspended from about 9:40 a.m. to about 5:20 p.m.
About 200 flights were canceled at Philadelphia International Airport, while Boston Logan International Airport was also affected.
According to UPI, as of the evening of the 21st, about 900 flights had been canceled and approximately 5,000 delayed across the United States. Flight operations had resumed at the airports.
According to The Associated Press, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney was unable to attend a United Nations General Assembly side event he had originally been scheduled to join because of the airport disruptions. Carney had been scheduled to participate in a discussion at the 'Partners for Multilateralism Summit' (P4M) alongside António Costa, president of the European Council, and Kenyan President William Ruto.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in an online post, "(Although repairs have been completed,) it will take a little time to clear all the delays that currently exist."
According to the Transportation Department, a problem occurred that morning with the main communications line connected to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)'s Philadelphia Terminal Radar Approach Control facility (TRACON), an air traffic control facility. The system attempted to switch to a backup fiber-optic cable, but the cable had been severed. Explanations regarding who was responsible for the cable-cutting incident differed. UPI reported that the damaged section of communications line was about 600 feet (about 180 meters) long.
The disruption occurred as 130 heads of state and government and dozens of ministers from around the world were arriving in New York for the high-level segment of the UN General Assembly.

[email protected] Lee Seok-woo, International Affairs Correspondent Reporter