Flights resumed after the Sept. 21 disruption, while NJ Transit examined a severed fiber line at a rail construction project. Travelers who abandoned canceled trips may qualify for refunds.
NEWARK, NJ – The communications failure that disrupted Newark Liberty International Airport on Sept. 21 involved two separate problems: a failed primary connection at an air traffic control facility in Philadelphia and a backup fiber-optic line that construction work had severed in New Jersey, according to ABC7’s Sept. 22 report.
Flights resumed Monday evening, with disruptions continuing Tuesday as airlines repositioned aircraft and crews. Philadelphia, LaGuardia and John F. Kennedy airports were also affected.
The Philadelphia facility serves Newark. AP reported that a switch on its primary communications line failed, while the severed fiber cable left the backup connection unavailable. Controllers lost radar and communications capabilities for hours.
The combination explains why damage at a construction site away from Newark could interrupt flights there. The backup line was part of the system intended to keep the control facility connected when its primary service failed.
NJ Transit said a crew working on the Delco Lead project severed the cable and that repairs to the fiber lines had been completed by Tuesday morning. The agency said preliminary information placed the crew about 10 feet from utility markings and that it was examining who had made those markings.
That account leaves responsibility for the marking and excavation error unresolved. It also distinguishes the damaged backup cable from the equipment failure on the primary connection; the available accounts do not establish that the construction crew caused both problems.
The work is part of a project intended to give NJ Transit safer places to store and service trains, including protection from flooding. A separate NJ Transit construction advisory says portions of Parking Lot 1 at Jersey Avenue Station are closing in stages from Sept. 21 through late 2026 for the Delco Lead and County Yard expansion. The advisory provides overflow parking across Jersey Avenue.
For passengers whose trips were canceled or substantially changed, the cause of the disruption does not by itself eliminate refund rights. The U.S. Department of Transportation’s refund guidance says passengers are entitled to a refund when an airline cancels a flight and they decline travel or replacement compensation, regardless of why the flight was canceled.
Refund eligibility also applies to qualifying significant delays or changes when the passenger declines to travel. DOT defines a significant late arrival as at least three hours for a domestic itinerary or six hours for an international itinerary, among other qualifying changes.
Passengers who accept and take a replacement flight generally do not qualify for a full airfare refund under those rules. Those entitled to refunds should review their airline’s notice and the federal guidance, including whether the ticket was purchased directly from the airline or through a ticket agent.