US officials promise redundant telecom routes in the next air-traffic-control system.

A severed fiber line in New Jersey and a failed telecom switch forced the FAA to halt arrivals at major Northeast airports for hours on September 21. More than 100 flights were diverted, while operations were largely back to normal the following day.

Congress has already allocated $12.5 billion for air-traffic-control upgrades. FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said outdated copper telecom lines should be fully replaced by September 2027, while the estimated telecom-upgrade cost has risen to $5.91 billion.