Delays and cancellations continued to upend operations at Newark Liberty International Airport on Tuesday, after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said some air traffic controllers are taking time off following recent outages.<\/p>\n
The turmoil also comes after United Airlines said over the weekend that it would cut 35 daily flights from the airport located not far from New York City.<\/p>\n
Inbound flight delays have hit an average of 2 hours and 41 minutes, per officials.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s what to know about the situation: <\/p>\n
On April 28, air traffic controllers briefly lost communication \u2014 for about 90 seconds \u2014 with planes at Newark Airport.<\/p>\n
Controllers at a Philadelphia control center, who were responsible for monitoring air traffic in and out of the airport, lost radar and communications with the flights. “They were unable to \u201csee, hear, or talk to them,\u201d the National Air Traffic Controllers Association said, according to The New York Times<\/a>. <\/p>\n The blackout and communication breakdown led to hundreds of flights being delayed or canceled. Three dozen flights were also diverted that day, said Aidan O\u2019Donnell, the general manager of New Jersey airports, the Times reported. <\/p>\n The situation worsened when air traffic controllers took absences under the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act, which allows federal workers who are injured or experience a trauma on the job to take time off.\u00a0<\/p>\n In a letter to customers<\/a> Friday, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby highlighted the tension between his company and the FAA in regard to efforts to \u201cpermanently and structurally\u201d fix the agency. Those challenges boiled over last week, he said. <\/p>\n \u201cIn the past few days, on more than one occasion, technology that FAA air traffic controllers rely on to manage the airplanes coming in and out of Newark airport failed \u2014 resulting in dozens of diverted flights, hundreds of delayed and canceled flights and worst of all, thousands of customers with disrupted travel plans,\u201d he wrote. <\/p>\n Kirby said the issues were compounded when about 20 percent of the airport’s air traffic controllers took their absence. He warned customers that Newark Airport cannot handle the number of incoming and outgoing planes in the next weeks and months without adequate staff.<\/p>\n The United executive said the airline was looking to minimize the impact the staffing and technology issues the Newark Airport will have on customers when announcing the airline would cut 35 daily flights<\/a> to the region.<\/p>\n He said the company’s been urging the government for years to limit flights to what specific airports can \u201crealistically handle.\u201d Kirby shared that he recently spoke with Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and said he was pleased the Trump administration had a proposal for modernizing the FAA.<\/p>\n Since taking office earlier this year, the Trump administration has sought to fix the FAA\u2019s outdated air traffic control system<\/a> and address the shortage of controllers<\/a>.<\/p>\n Duffy previously announced the efforts<\/a> and unveiled a program<\/a> that would recruit new controllers while incentivizing existing ones not to leave their positions, despite previous caps on how long they could stay<\/a> in the role.<\/p>\n In a statement Monday, the FAA said it was working to make sure current telecommunications equipment is \u201cmore reliable in the New York area.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFrequent equipment and telecommunications outages can be stressful for controllers,\u201d the agency said, noting some who work at Newark have taken time off to \u201crecover from the stress of multiple recent outages.\u201d<\/p>\n FAA officials said while the agency cannot replace the controllers who took a leave of absence quickly, it continues to train controllers who will one day be assigned to the Newark area.\u00a0<\/p>\n Duffy said earlier this week<\/a> that he and President Trump are going to \u201cradically transform\u201d air traffic control by building a \u201cbrand new system that is the envy of the world.\u201d He outlined some of the priorities<\/a> in an interview with Fox News on Monday and suggested more details would emerge Thursday.<\/p>\n The FAA has admitted that its technology systems are outdated and in need of updating. <\/p>\n According to\u00a0a March report\u00a0from Forbes<\/a>, 92 percent of the FAA\u2019s budget is spent on maintaining obsolete technologies, including floppy disks.\u00a0<\/p>\n A Government Accountability Office\u00a0report from 2024<\/a> found that the FAA \u201curgently\u201d needed to modernize its \u201caging systems,\u201d noting that many platforms managing air traffic were unsustainable. The FAA then determined that 51 of its 138 systems were unsustainable due to outdated technology or products.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe agency has been slow to modernize the most critical and at-risk systems,\u201d the report said, noting that some modernization efforts would not be completed for six to 13 years.\u00a0<\/p>\n House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chair Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.)\u00a0released a budget reconciliation proposal<\/a>\u00a0that would allocate $15 billion to modernize the FAA\u2019s air traffic control technology.<\/p>\n Duffy has stated that he intends to \u201csupercharge\u201d staffing amid shortages and direct funding to updating the FAA’s systems. <\/p>\nAirline response<\/h2>\n
Trump administration action <\/h2>\n
Outdated technology worsening issue<\/strong><\/h2>\n