Newark Air Traffic Control Crisis: Brief Communications Blackout Triggers Chaos

The Newark air traffic control faced a communications outage last week, causing hundreds of flight disruptions and leaving staff reeling from trauma.

Air traffic controllers at Newark Liberty International Airport experienced a significant disruption on April 28, when they briefly lost contact with planes, leaving them "unable to see, hear, or talk to them," as officials reported. The incident resulted in many employees taking trauma leave, contributing to hundreds of delayed and cancelled flights. Tracking data from FlightAware revealed that over 150 flights were scrapped on the following Monday alone. Newark, one of the busiest airports serving the New York area, has faced staffing issues for over a week.

US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed the loss of communication lasted 30 seconds, emphasizing that this brief blackout did not pose a crash risk thanks to onboard communication systems in the planes. However, he acknowledged it illustrated vulnerabilities within the current air traffic control setup, which requires urgent improvements. "The primary communication line failed, and the backup was non-operational, which signifies a frail system in need of updates," Duffy stated during an interview with Fox News.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has recognized the challenges presented by its aging air traffic control infrastructure, which it admits is impacting workforce operations. Following the Newark incident, the FAA confirmed that several controllers were on leave due to the trauma of the disturbance, and noted the difficulty of rapidly replacing them. Continued training efforts are underway for new controllers to ensure operations in this critical airspace.

Criticism of Newark’s air traffic control has mounted, with United Airlines announcing it would cancel 35 flights daily from Newark due to operational limitations. United CEO Scott Kirby commented on the technology failures affecting the airport, stating, “The situation was exacerbated by over 20% of FAA controllers walking off the job." The National Air Traffic Controllers Association revealed that the employees utilized provisions for leave in cases of workplace trauma, though specifics on the number of affected controllers and duration of communication loss were not disclosed.

In response to ongoing staffing difficulties, the Department of Transportation recently introduced a plan to bolster the number of FAA controllers, aiming to hire at least 2,000 within the year. Duffy also mentioned forthcoming discussions with Congress to secure billions in funding for comprehensive improvements to the air traffic control system. This commitment to modernization seeks to address long-standing issues faced by U.S. air travel and improve safety and efficiency moving forward.