Second Air Traffic Control Outage Hits Newark Airport Within Two Weeks

Newark Liberty International Airport experienced a second telecommunications outage at the Philadelphia TRACON Area C control facility, which guides aircraft in and out of the airport's airspace, causing a 90-second loss of radar and communications early on May 9. This follows a similar outage on April 28 that led to hundreds of flight delays and cancellations and resulted in some air traffic controllers taking trauma leave, exacerbating staffing shortages. The Federal Aviation Administration is working to modernize the aging air traffic control system by installing new fiber optic lines and plans a full system overhaul within four years, as announced by Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. Meanwhile, Gov. Phil Murphy and airline executives like United CEO Scott Kirby have called for increased investment, better staffing, and consideration of slot systems to manage capacity due to the ongoing disruptions. The outages, coupled with weather and runway construction issues, have created a challenging travel environment ahead of the busy Memorial Day weekend. The FAA has acknowledged the problems and committed to building a new, state-of-the-art air traffic control infrastructure to prevent future incidents.