Troubles at Newark Airport were far from over on Friday morning. The air traffic controllers directing planes into the Newark, New Jersey, airport lost their radar Friday morning for the second time in two weeks. This was on top of a ground stop put in place for an hour until 11:15 a.m.
The Federal Aviation Administration said the radar at the facility in Philadelphia that directs planes in and out of Newark airport went black for 90 seconds at 3:55 a.m. Friday. That’s similar to what happened on April 28. That first radar outage led to hundreds of flights being canceled or delayed at the Newark airport in the past two weeks after the FAA slowed down traffic at the airport to ensure safety. Several controllers also went on trauma leave after that outage, worsening the existing shortage.
The FAA said earlier this week that it is installing new fiber optic data lines to carry the radar signal between its facilities in Philadelphia and New York. Some of the lines connecting those two facilities are outdated copper wire.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced a multi-billion-dollar plan Thursday to replace the nation’s aging air traffic control system to prevent problems like this from happening and give controllers modern technology. Officials developed the plan to upgrade the system after a deadly midair crash in January between a passenger jet and an Army helicopter killed 67 people in the skies over Washington, D.C.
But the shortcomings of the air traffic control system have been known for decades. The National Transportation Safety Board has not determined that a problem with the air traffic control system caused that crash near Reagan National Airport. “I don’t want to see people lose their lives because we have an air traffic control system that fails,” the transportation secretary said Thursday on a visit to the FAA Academy in Oklahoma City.
FAA announces planned fixes for Newark Airport
The FAA on Wednesday released a statement laying out the next steps to fix some of the equipment and staffing issues that have plagued EWR in recent days. “The FAA is taking immediate steps to improve the reliability of operations at Newark Liberty International Airport. This includes accelerating technological and logistical improvements and increasing air traffic controller staffing,” the FAA said.
The FAA said the controllers who handle Newark’s airspace are based in Philadelphia but the system that processes radar data is based in New York, with telecom lines feeding the data to the controllers in Philly. To help fix some of the communication issues, the FAA said it is added new communications between the two centers and replacing connections with updated fiberoptic technology for greater speed.
Controller staffing is also a priority, Duffy has said, and the FAA said it has 21 controllers and supervisors in training specifically for the Newark airspace operations center with a pipeline of classes filled through July 2026.
The situation at Newark Airport remains concerning as the issues with radar outages and ground stops persist. The FAA’s efforts to improve the air traffic control system are crucial to ensuring the safety and efficiency of air travel. The recent incidents highlight the need for modern technology and adequate staffing to prevent such disruptions in the future. As travelers continue to navigate through these challenges, the importance of a reliable air traffic control system cannot be overstated.
