People wait for a delayed flight at Newark International Airport at Newark, New Jersey on May 5, 2025.
Spencer Plot | Getty images
Air traffic controllers lost contact with the aircraft heading and Newark Liberty International Airport Last week, his union said, a description of the failure of a tool, which delayed the flight and more concerns about it increased. Aging US aviation infrastructure And lack of staffing.
The National Air Traffic Controllers Association, his union said in a statement, “On 28 April, the controller who guide the flights inside and outside the New Jersey Airport, who temporarily lose the radar and communicates with the aircraft in his control, is unable to see, hear or talk to them in their control. ,
The Federal Aviation Administration said on Monday that the lack of staffing followed the incident, which was so serious after the incident that some controllers involved in it had taken time to overcome the stress of many recent outages. “
According to the flight-turner site flightware, the New Jersey Airport was delayed by more than 1,500 last week, as there was a decline in disruption due to lack of air traffic controllers.
The FAA said, “Our ancient air traffic control system is affecting our workforce.” “We are working to ensure that the current telecommunications equipment is more reliable in the New York region by installing more flexible and fruitless configurations with local exchange carriers.”
FAA and Union did not say how long the outage lasted, but Bloomberg InformedCiting people familiar with the case, that it was about 90 seconds.
United Airlines On Friday, it said that it would cut 35 flights a day from New York City Area Hub in Newark, as due to the delay, in the hope of more dull in the system and reducing disruption.
In a note for customers, CEO Scott Kirby said on Friday that last week “technology issues were compiled as more than 20% FAA controllers, who had gone from jobs for EWR.”
Kirby said in her note, “This is especially understood by air traffic control facility for years and without these controllers, it is now clear – and FAA tells us – Newark Airport cannot handle the number of aircraft that are scheduled to work in the front and months.”
The Sangh denied that the controller went away from the job and explained that the workers took time out under the Federal Employees Compensation Act, which “involves all federal employees who are physically injured or experience a painful event on the job.”
The US has faced a shortage of air traffic controllers over the years. Trump administration recently rolled out New incentives To rent and maintain controllers, which need to retire at the age of 56.
The FAA last year transferred controllers who are responsible for aircraft coming from Newarark with a feature on Long Island in New York and for a separate feature in Philadelphia, in the hope of reducing overloaded controllers who were handling traffic for major airports in New York City.
The airspace is some of the most congested in the world.
“Port Authority has invested billions to modernize Newark Liberty, stating in a statement on Monday, the Port Authority, which oversees the major airports of New York City, has invested billions, but those reforms completely depend on staff and modern federal air traffic systems.” “We urge the FAA to overcome the shortage of the ongoing staff and accelerates upgradation for a long time that causes delay in the country’s busiest aerial corridor.”
US transport secretary Scene Dafi Last week visited the Philadelphia facility and said that he would unveil plans for a “new air traffic control system” this week.
He told reporters last week, “The system we are using is not effective to control the traffic we have made.”
Despite the aging technique, Dafi insisted that the system is safe as the FAA will slow down, if there is no land, the airplane is completely lacking capacity in air traffic controllers.
New Jersey village. Phil Murphy on Monday urged Dafi to address the lack of staffing in the Philadelphia facility, along with Newark, along with New York, who oversees New York which is Luardia Airport and John F. Kennedy controls traffic inside and outside the International Airport. Philadelphia’s move and lack of service, Murphy wrote: “It is clear that neither the effort has led the desired result.”
Murphy asked Dafi to prioritize the field in future investment.
Murphy said in his letter, “We expect millions of additional passengers next year as we are ready to host the World Cup final and should avoid additional disruption or strains on the system.”
The runway construction and bad weather added to Newark Travel Snarl in recent times.