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United Airlines Responds After FAA Communications Failure Disrupts Hundreds of Flights

A communications failure at an FAA facility in Philadelphia disrupted hundreds of flights on September 21, 2026. Here is what was reported, what United said, and how to check your own booking.
From TheFinanceBase Team4 min to read
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On Monday, September 21, 2026, a communications failure at an FAA air traffic control facility in Philadelphia left controllers without radar or radio contact for hours and disrupted hundreds of Northeast flights. United, which operates a major hub at Newark Liberty International Airport, stopped canceling domestic Newark flights for the rest of that day, said it had issued a travel waiver, and told customers it would get them to their destinations once the disruption was resolved. If you were booked on United, the waiver and your own reservation determine what you can change, so check both before you go to the airport.

What actually failed

The event is often described as a power outage, but the reporting available from the Associated Press and WABC-TV/ABC7 New York, both dated September 21, 2026, describes a communications failure rather than a loss of power. The primary communications circuit at the Philadelphia facility failed. When the system switched to its backup, officials found that the backup fiber-optic line had been cut. With both paths down, controllers lost the radar and communications they need to manage traffic in the airspace.

Responsibility for the severed line is still disputed in the reporting. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said an Amtrak construction crew was responsible. Amtrak pointed to a New Jersey Transit construction crew. NJ Transit said its crews were working in the area and that the incident was under investigation. No final finding on the cause or on the responsible contractor had been published in the reporting I could confirm as of this writing.

The communications lines were repaired, and Northeast operations began resuming on Monday evening. Duffy warned that clearing the existing delays would take time, and residual delays carried past the restart.

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How large the disruption was

The figures below come from two outlets and measure different things. They are same-day counts, not a final audited tally, and they should not be added together.

Measure Reported figure Reported by Scope
Cancellations into and out of Newark Liberty More than 600 Associated Press Newark only, September 21, 2026
Cancellations into and out of Philadelphia International More than 200 Associated Press Philadelphia only, September 21, 2026
Nationwide cancellations More than 900 WABC-TV/ABC7 New York All U.S. flights, Monday
Nationwide delays About 5,000 WABC-TV/ABC7 New York All U.S. flights, Monday
Average Newark delays More than five hours WABC-TV/ABC7 New York Newark, Monday

AP also reported that no commercial arrivals reached Newark from about 9:40 a.m. until just after 5:20 p.m. local time. LaGuardia and John F. Kennedy airports were also affected, though the reporting I reviewed did not give comparable cancellation counts for them.

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What United said and did

United said Monday evening that it was no longer canceling domestic flights at Newark for the rest of the day. It also said it had issued a travel waiver. In a statement reported by ABC7 on September 21, 2026, the airline said:

“We know this outage is a significant disruption for our customers. Once it is resolved, we will work to safely get them to their destinations, and we have issued a travel waiver to give them the flexibility to manage their travel plans.”

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The reporting does not publish the waiver’s full terms: which routes, travel dates, fare types, or cabins it covers, or how long it remains open. United’s current notice on its website and the booking details in your reservation are the only reliable sources for those specifics.

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What to do if you were booked on United

Advice in the coverage was consistent, but it is general. Work through these checks in order.

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  1. Check the flight status before you leave. The FAA advised travelers to check status before going to the airport. Use United’s app or website, and confirm the flight number and date, not just the route.
  2. Look for the waiver notice on your booking. Open the reservation in the United app or on united.com and see whether it shows a change or refund option. If it does not, the waiver may not cover your ticket.
  3. Ask about a no-fee change before accepting a refund. AP reported that some airlines were letting customers change flights without a fee. A change keeps your fare value; a refund returns the money but may end the trip.
  4. Keep records. Save the cancellation or delay notice, any rebooking confirmation, and receipts for hotels, meals, or ground transport you paid for yourself. Whether any of those costs are reimbursed depends on the airline’s policy and your ticket, which the reporting does not address.
  5. Contact United directly if the app shows nothing. Call the number on your booking or use the airline’s support chat, and reference the September 21 date.

Questions the reporting leaves open

  • Who is responsible for the cut line. Duffy, Amtrak, and NJ Transit have given differing accounts, and the investigation was still open in the reporting I found.
  • The final cancellation total. Newark and Philadelphia figures come from AP’s same-day count, and the nationwide figures come from ABC7’s separate count.
  • The waiver’s exact terms. The statement confirms that a waiver exists but does not list its eligibility or deadline.
  • The FAA’s own account. The FAA’s Newark statements page describes a July 2025 move to a fiber-optic network with two separate paths between New York and the Philadelphia TRACON. That page is background on the system’s resilience work. It does not describe the September 2026 failure, and it does not show that the 2025 upgrade caused or failed to prevent it.

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