Newark air traffic control suffers another outage overnight, FAA confirms

Newark Liberty International Airport suffered another brief air traffic control outage Friday, capping another week full of problems for travelers heading to and from New Jersey. 

The latest radar outage comes less than 24 hours after Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced the Trump administration’s plan to overhaul the U.S. air traffic control system and replace outdated equipment, which has been blamed for hundreds of delays at Newark over the last two weeks. 

“There was a telecommunications outage that impacted communications and radar display at Philadelphia TRACON Area C, which guides aircraft in and out of Newark Liberty International Airport airspace.  The outage occurred around 3:55 a.m. on Friday, May 9, and lasted approximately 90 seconds,” the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement to CBS News New York. 

Last week, when the wave of delays started, crews at the Philadelphia air traffic control facility lost radar and communication with planes in Newark’s airspace for at least 30 seconds. The union representing air traffic controllers said multiple controllers took trauma leave after the equipment failure.

Amid the problems, United Airlines has been limiting flights to and from Newark. 

“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,” United CEO Scott Kirby said. “It’s disappointing to make further cuts to an already reduced schedule at Newark, but since there is no way to resolve the near-term structural FAA staffing issues, we feel like there is no other choice in order to protect our customers.”  

The FAA and transportation officials have insisted Newark airspace remains safe since traffic is being slowed into and out of the airport, hence the delays.