On Monday morning, the FFA issued a ground stop for New Jersey’s Newark Liberty International Airport due to an equipment outage. The order means that all flights arriving to and departing from Newark are currently delayed. The current restriction is scheduled to remain in effect until 1:45 p.m.
It was also not the only East Coast airport affected by the equipment outage. The TRACON in Philadelphia, which is an air traffic control facility that handles air traffic for both the New Jersey area as well as the Philadelphia Airport.
“The FAA is pausing flights into Philadelphia International, Teterboro and Newark Liberty International airports due to issues with some frequencies at Philadelphia TRACON,” a spokesperson told CBS News on Monday.
In spring 2025 there were several high-profile outages due to outdated equipment at the facility, which caused staff at TRACON to take a leave of absence from work due to stress on their mental health.
Several weeks in summer 2025 low staffing and equipment issues caused travel chaos at Newark. The incidents also caused a widespread safety concerns and calls to overhaul the entire national air traffic control system, which the FFA is still undertaking
It is still not clear what equipment went out at the TRACON on Monday as pass incidents were caused by outages of telecommunications equipment. If you plan on traveling you should check with the airline for the latest flight scheduling information.
It’s not clear how long the ground stop at Newark and Philadelphia will last, the FFA’s alert says the possibility for the order to be extended is “medium,” or 30% to 60%, probability that the ground stop will be extended.
