A sudden technical disruption at key US airports led to widespread flight cancellations, with more than 1,000 services delayed or called off nationwide.
Officials said the incident began at the air traffic control center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where an unexpected electrical circuit fault interrupted radar and telecommunications systems. When operations were expected to shift to an emergency backup fiber line, that connection was also found to be down.
Preliminary indications suggest the cables may have been accidentally cut during trench digging for nearby railway track work. The disruption hit major hubs particularly hard, including New York, Philadelphia and Boston.
The outage drew added attention as it occurred while leaders and ministers from various countries were traveling to New York for the United Nations General Assembly session, heightening concerns over travel disruptions at a critical time.
