Scare at Newark Airport exposes lingering challenges facing Trump administration at busy hub

Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy and air travelers are dealing with the fallout from a technology failure at Newark Liberty International Airport that has left pilots flying blind, traumatized air traffic controllers taking a leave of absence, and numerous flight delays and cancellations at the busy hub.

Mr. Duffy is poised this week to unveil his plan to overhaul the air traffic control system. He says the scary series of events at Newark airport is “a sign that we have a frail system in place, and it has to be fixed.” 

“We’re going to build a brand-new air traffic control system — from new telecom, to new radars, to new infrastructure,” Mr. Duffy said this week on “The Ingraham Angle.”  “We’re bringing on new air traffic controllers. This has been a problem in the decades coming, and we’re going to fix it.”

The lingering problems at Newark Airport came into focus last week when air traffic controllers responsible for guiding planes in and out of the airport temporarily lost radar and communications with all the pilots.

Their screens went dark for upwards of 90 minutes, leaving the pilots flying blind and air traffic controllers without the ability to track planes. Scott Kirby, CEO of United Airlines, which accounts for the lion’s share of the Newark traffic, said the system has failed more than once recently.

The New York Post released audio on Tuesday of the terrifying moment when the system broke down and air traffic controllers lost contact with approaching aircraft.

“Approach, are you there?” a pilot is heard asking, and is met with radio silence. 

The blackout has been blamed on a fried piece of copper wire, and more broadly, an aging system that needs to be upgraded. 

The Federal Aviation Administration also has attributed ongoing airport challenges to a shortage of air traffic controllers, ongoing runway construction and an “antiquated air traffic control system” that “is affecting our workforce.”

Meanwhile, an air traffic controller warned NBC correspondent Tom Costello, “Don’t fly into Newark. Avoid Newark at all costs.”

In a letter to customers, Mr. Kirby said the scare at Newark underscored the long-simmering challenges at the airport, which is also renovating its busiest runway.

“In 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 — resulting in dozens of diverted flights, hundreds of delayed and canceled flights and worst of all, thousands of customers with disrupted travel plans,” Mr. Kirby said in a statement. “Unfortunately, the technology issues were compounded as over 20% of the FAA controllers for EWR walked off the job.” 

“Keep in mind, this particular air traffic control facility has been chronically understaffed for years and without these controllers, it’s now clear – and the FAA tells us – that Newark airport cannot handle the number of planes that are scheduled to operate there in the weeks and months ahead,” he said.

Citing the FAA’s failure to address longstanding challenges with the air traffic control system, United Airlines announced it cut 35 daily flights from its schedule.

The National Association of Air Traffic Controllers said controllers did not walk off the job, but were granted a leave of absence under the Federal Employees Compensation Act, a workers’ compensation benefit for federal employees who are physically injured or experience a traumatic event on the job. 

“The dedicated, American, hard-working employees who serve as controllers are the foundation of our air traffic control system,” NACTA said in a statement. “These controllers and the thousands of other aviation safety professionals represented by NATCA ensure the safe and efficient movement of millions of passengers and tons of cargo through our dynamic airspace every day.”

“These professionals ensure the safe movement of aircraft through the National Airspace System as a primary goal,” the group said.

Mr. Kirby and NATCA have welcomed Mr. Duffy’s announcement that he plans to upgrade and modernize the nation’s air traffic control systems and infrastructure.

The Department of Transportation did not respond to a request for comment on Mr. Duffy’s plan to revamp the system.

Newark Airport has routinely ranked among the nation’s worst airports. During his 2016 presidential campaign, President Trump often described it as “third world.”

The airport has received more than $170 million from the infrastructure bill that President Biden signed into law in 2021.

That did not appear to help on April 28 when air traffic controllers tasked with separating and sequencing aircraft in and out of the airport temporarily lost radar and communications with the aircraft under their control.

“The primary communication line went down, the backup line didn’t fire, and so for 30 seconds we lost contact with air traffic,” Mr. Duffy said on “The Ingraham Angle” late Monday.

“Now, were planes going to crash? No. They have communication devices,” he said. “But it’s a sign that we have a frail system in place, and it has to be fixed.”

Mr. Duffy blamed the problems on the Biden administration, saying the system should have been upgraded sooner.

Mr. Duffy rolled out a plan to recruit and retain more air traffic controllers by offering incentives for experienced individuals to stay and higher starting salaries.

— This story is based in part on wire reports.