FAA Fixing Problems At Newark Airport While Planning Larger System Overhaul

The Federal Aviation Administration said Wednesday that it plans to upgrade the technology used to get radar data to air traffic controllers directing planes to the troubled Newark, New Jersey, airport, and improve staffing to alleviate problems that have caused hundreds of flights to be canceled there.

At the same time, the agency plans pursue a broader multibillion-dollar plan that will be announced Thursday for long-overdue upgrades to the nation’s air traffic control system.

A January midair collision between a passenger jet and Army helicopter over Washington, D.C., that killed 67 people, followed by a string of other crashes and mishaps, raised alarms about aviation safety and prompted officials to reexamine the system.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says flying remains the safest way to travel because of existing precautions, but the problems in Newark demonstrate the desperate need for upgrades.

“We are on it. We are going to fix it. We are going to build a brand new system for all of you and your families and the American people,” Duffy said.

The radar system air traffic controllers in Philadelphia use to direct planes in and out of the Newark airport went offline for at least 30 seconds on April 28. That facility relies on radar data sent over lines from New York that may have failed. Some of those lines are old copper phone lines instead of much more reliable fiber optic lines that can handle more data. The reason the FAA is relying on those lines is because the agency moved the Newark controllers out of the New York facility to Philadelphia last summer to address staffing issues.

The FAA says it plans to replace any old copper wires with fiber optics and add three new data lines between its New York facility and Philadelphia. The agency is also working to get additional controllers trained and certified.

It wasn’t immediately clear how quickly either of those steps will be completed, but Duffy has said he hopes the situation in Newark will improve by summer. Several controllers remain on extended trauma leave after the radar outage.

In the meantime, the FAA has slowed traffic in and out of Newark to ensure flights can be handled safely, leading to cancellations. On Wednesday, Newark led the nation in cancellations with 41 canceled departures and 43 canceled arrivals, according to FlightAware.com. That’s even after United Airlines cut 35 flights a day from its schedule at the airport starting last weekend.

“We’ve slowed down the traffic. Safety is our mission. We love efficiency, but safety is critical for us. And so, if we feel like there’s issues in the airspace, we’ll slow it down,” Duffy said. “We’re looking at bringing in all of the airlines that serve Newark and having all of them with all of us have a conversation about how do we manage the flights out of Newark.”