Flights grounded at major US airports after construction workers cut backup cable

Flights were disrupted across the US Northeast on Monday after a key air traffic control connection failed and a backup fiber optic cable was cut during construction work, forcing the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to temporarily halt some incoming flights at major airports including Newark Liberty, Philadelphia and Teterboro.The disruption was linked to communication problems at a Philadelphia air traffic control facility that handles traffic for several major airports in the region. The FAA said some incoming flights were temporarily halted because of the issues.FlightAware, a flight tracking website, said more than 300 flights at Newark and Philadelphia, or about 15%, had been delayed. Newark is a major hub for United Airlines, while Philadelphia is a hub for American Airlines.The technical problems also forced a number of flights to be diverted to other airports.