On September 21, 2026, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) temporarily halted some incoming flights to Newark Liberty, Philadelphia, and Teterboro airports. This disruption was caused by air traffic control communication issues, specifically tied to certain frequencies at a Philadelphia air traffic control facility. The FAA also ordered ground stops at these airports due to an equipment outage.
Separately, on September 20, 2026, New York area airports experienced significant disruptions due to a rare air traffic control system problem. John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) reported a total radar failure, while Westchester County Airport (HPN) had a total frequency failure. Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) and LaGuardia Airport (LGA) also faced flight holds, with Newark experiencing gate hold and taxi delays between 31 and 45 minutes, and LaGuardia seeing delays of 30 minutes or more.
FlightAware data for September 21 showed over 200 flights, or about 16%, delayed at Newark Liberty International Airport as of 11:30 a.m. ET. For September 20, JFK recorded 247 delays and 5 cancellations, LaGuardia had 282 delays and 3 cancellations, and Newark Liberty reported 229 delays and 18 cancellations. Westchester County Airport, a smaller regional airport, had 30 delays.
Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) experienced the most disruption on September 20 with 616 delays and 46 cancellations, totaling 662 disruptions, which the FAA attributed to traffic-management measures and operational challenges across the region. The air traffic control problems from September 20 were resolved relatively quickly, with New York ground stops canceled by 11:01 a.m. ET, though thousands of passengers still faced delays.
