The problems keep piling up at Newark Liberty International Airport.
The Federal Aviation Administration said that an air traffic control equipment outage at the Philadelphia approach control facility, which guides aircraft in and out of Newark, occurred around 3:55 a.m. on Friday morning.
The agency said it affected communications and radar displays for “approximately 90 seconds.”
It’s the facility’s second outage since April 28, when screens went dark for 60 to 90 seconds and prevented controllers from talking to aircraft.
The issues, coupled with weather and runway construction, have caused hundreds of delays and cancellations at the airport for nearly two weeks.
United CEO Scott Kirby has called on the government to designate Newark as a “Level 3” airport. This would mean it would run on a slot system that limits the number of planes that can take off and land at certain times to manage capacity.
What is going on at Newark?
In July 2024, some controllers were moved from an approach control facility in New York to the Philadelphia one to address understaffing issues, but the facility is still facing shortages.
Kirby said in a letter to customers in May that the Philadelphia center has been “chronically understaffed for years” and that Newark “cannot handle the number of planes that are scheduled to operate there in the weeks and months ahead.”
The airline, which holds the largest market share at Newark, has since axed 35 daily flights, or about 10% of its schedule at the airport, to deal with the overcapacity and compounding air traffic problems.
The airport is also grappling with the closure of its main runway, which will not be operational until at least mid-June.
According to an FAA advisory, as of about 12 p.m. ET on Friday, Newark is facing arrival and departure delays of up to four hours due to a trifecta of overcapacity, runway construction, and bad weather.
United does not fly out of New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, which has not been affected by the Philadelphia control problems, meaning rivals Delta and American have not experienced the same disruptions to flights and customers.
The US has a major ATC problem
Recent air traffic control issues have highlighted the US’ ongoing battle to update aging equipment and hire more controllers at facilities around the country.
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The FAA said in May 2024 that it was short about 3,000 controllers but was meeting its hiring goals to catch up.
Still, the entire infrastructure needs work, an issue made clear by the recent problems in Newark and the January midair collision over Washington, DC. A preliminary investigation found that the DC airport tower was understaffed at the time of the crash.
The Trump Administration announced a “supercharge” program in February to accelerate hiring. This program includes offering bonuses to new hires, reducing the hiring process by months, and creating new opportunities for veteran controllers.
In March, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced a plan to upgrade the national airspace system with modernized technology and infrastructure.
