Multiple flights affected at Pearson after fibre cable issue disrupts eastern U.S. airports

International passengers arrive at Pearson International Airport in Toronto, Ont. on Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. U.S. sanctions preventing oil from getting to Cuba have caused jet fuel shortages and flight delays from the Caribbean nation. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jon Blacker

Toronto Pearson International Airport says that several flights have been impacted by an electrical issue that also halted flights departing from several U.S. airports Monday afternoon.

In a statement to CTV News, a spokesperson for Toronto Pearson International Airport said that as of 2 p.m., a total of seven flights were impacted.

The disruptions came after the Federal Aviation Administration halted flights at airports in New York, Philadelphia and Boston on Monday after a fibre-optic cable was accidentally cut at a construction site in New Jersey.

FlightAware, a flight-tracking site, said more than 600 flights (or more than 20 per cent) at Newark and Philadelphia had been delayed at Philadelphia Terminal Radar Approach Control. Flightradar24, another flight-tracking site, noted that flights were being delayed by an average of 112 minutes at Newark, as a number of flights were forced to divert elsewhere.

Ground stops were issued for John F. Kennedy International Airport and LaGuardia Airport in New York, as well as Teterboro Airport in New Jersey.

Pearson is advising passengers to check their flight status with their airline.

With files from Reuters