Flights halted at Philadelphia, Newark and Teterboro airports due to equipment outage

The Federal Aviation Administration ordered ground stops at Philadelphia International, Newark Liberty and Teterboro airports on Monday amid air traffic control capacity issues.

The FAA said the disruption was related to “some frequencies at Philadelphia TRACON,” the air traffic control facility serving the Philadelphia and Newark areas.

The exact cause of the equipment problems was not immediately clear.

As of 11:30 AM on Monday, departure delays were averaging about 120 minutes and continuing to increase.

The ground stop at Newark Liberty International Airport began shortly after 10:00 AM, while restrictions at Philadelphia International Airport and Teterboro Airport were ordered earlier.

Flight tracking services showed dozens of aircraft lined up at Newark while waiting to depart as the disruption affected operations.

TRACON, or Terminal Radar Approach Control, manages aircraft arriving at and departing from airports within its assigned airspace.

The ground stops prevent certain aircraft from departing for affected airports and are commonly used by the FAA to manage traffic when airports or air traffic control facilities cannot safely handle their normal volume.

Officials did not say when normal operations were expected to resume or how long delays could continue.