Since April 28, Newark Liberty International Airport faced major delays and cancellations in a series of incidents relating to staffing shortages, radar outages, and runway closures. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is currently investigating the technological problems plaguing Newark, but many travelers have concerns about the airport.
On April 28 there was a 90 second loss of radar coverage and radio communications, leaving controllers unable to talk to planes or see where the planes were. This outage caused five controllers to take a 45-day trauma leave amongst a series of staffing shortages at Newark.
“I refuse to work and be responsible for something bad happening because I’m having to work a different method of traffic, and I have to work as if my radar is reliable,” Jonathan Stewart, air traffic controller, said to CNN.
The next incident occurred on May 9 when there was another 90 second radar loss early in the morning, which caused communications to be interrupted. During this incident, only one air traffic controller was on duty: a 39-year-old who was left terrified as she endured the 90 second blackout alone.
“I was so shaken by the incident, I was put on stress-related trauma leave the following day and I’m undergoing psychological evaluation. I haven’t returned to work — but this concerns me, too, because it means there are even fewer controllers managing the skies around Newark,” the woman anonymously told The Times.
Yet another incident took place on May 11 when a telecommunications issue took place at Philadelphia TRACON, or the Philadelphia Terminal Radar Approach Control facility at Philadelphia International Airport. The telecommunications issues occurred at Philadelphia TRACON Area C, the area responsible for directing aircrafts in and out of Newark. The FAA was forced to issue a ground stop for Newark bound flights that morning, which lasted for about 45 minutes and halted all flights heading to Newark from taking off.
“There was a telecommunications issue at Philadelphia TRACON Area C, which guides aircraft in and out of Newark Liberty International Airport airspace. The FAA briefly slowed aircraft in and out of the airport while we ensured redundancies [backup systems to keep critical systems working in case of failure] were working as designed,” the FAA reported in a statement regarding the incident.
Then, on May 19 around 11:35 am EST, the Philadelphia TRACON center lost radio frequencies for around two seconds, making it the fourth and most recent incident related to Newark recently. Following these incidents, airline leaders from United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue Airways, American Airlines, Spirit Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Allegiant Air, and the FAA met to discuss reducing the number of flights at Newark. The FAA proposed a maximum arrival rate of 28 aircraft per hour while the airport’s runway is under construction, which is expected to be worked on daily until June 15 and on Saturdays for the remainder of the year. Following the construction, the FAA stated that the arrival rate would be increased to 34 aircraft per hour until October 25, after which the situation would be re-evaluated.
“The FAA has brought together all of the airlines who serve Newark to have a conversation about how there can be a delayed reduction. So, if you book your flight, that flight is going to fly. You don’t have people at the airport for two, four, six hours, then a flight [is] canceled,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said at a congressional hearing in response to the incidents at Newark.
As problems continue to arise at Newark, many travelers have rescheduled their flights and moved them to nearby airports such as LaGuardia Airport and John F. Kennedy International Airport. In fact, the recent daily number of travelers departing from Newark has dropped by around 20% when compared to this time last year according to research done by the Transportation Security Administration. In comparison, LaGuardia has experienced a 16% increase in the average number of daily travelers, and John F. Kennedy International Airport has also faced an increase in travelers.
“Our goal is to relieve the substantial inconvenience to the traveling public from excessive flight delays due to construction, staffing challenges, and recent equipment issues, which magnify as they spread through the National Airspace System,” the current acting FAA Administrator, Chris Rocheleau, said.
