In an alarming repeat of previous incidents, air traffic controllers at Newark Liberty International Airport experienced a 90-second loss of radar and communication with aircraft early Friday morning, as reported by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). This disruption occurred shortly after the Trump administration announced plans to update the aging technology crucial for maintaining safety in U.S. airspace.
The outage took place around 3:55 a.m. ET, a time when air traffic is significantly reduced. Consequently, the impact on travel was markedly less severe compared to a similar incident on April 28, which led to extensive flight delays and cancellations.
The FAA noted that following the April outage, several controllers chose to take leave due to stress, further straining the already low staffing levels at the Philadelphia facility responsible for managing traffic at Newark. This situation forced the FAA to implement traffic delays at the airport.
Friday’s outage mirrored the earlier event as controllers again faced blank radar screens and a complete inability to communicate with aircraft in the area.
In February, both airlines and labor organizations expressed urgent concerns over the need for Congress to allocate billions of dollars in emergency funding to enhance air traffic control systems, which continue to grapple with staffing shortages and outdated technologies.
