Air traffic controllers at Newark Liberty International Airport experienced another outage on Friday morning, resulting in a 90-second loss of radar at 3:55 a.m. The outage was caused by a telecommunications issue at the Philadelphia TRACON Area C, impacting communications and radar displays for aircraft approaching and departing Newark.
As of 11:30 a.m. Friday, FlightAware reported 246 delays and 66 cancellations at Newark Airport. The FAA's operational plan cites staffing issues as a contributing factor to flight disruptions throughout the day.
Additional factors contributing to Newark flight delays included bad weather and runway construction.
This outage is the latest in a series of technical problems plaguing the US air traffic control system. A similar incident on April 28th resulted in a complete loss of radar and communication, forcing at least five controllers to take extended leave due to trauma. This incident also led to more than a thousand flight cancellations and delays.
In response to ongoing issues, the Department of Transportation announced an overhaul of the nation’s air traffic control system on Thursday. Secretary Sean Duffy highlighted the frequency of connectivity issues as a clear indicator of underlying problems with the telecommunications infrastructure.
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Air traffic controllers handling flights approaching and departing Newark Liberty International Airport experienced another outage early Friday morning.
The blackout included losing radar for about 90 seconds at 3:55 a.m. local time, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement.
“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 statement noted.
There are 246 delays and 66 cancellations reported at Newark, according to the flight tracking site FlightAware, as of 11:30 a.m. Friday.
Staffing issues for Terminal Radar Approach Control handling Newark flights are noted in the publicly available FAA operations plan for nearly the entire day, and the flow of aircraft is being managed due to “staffing constraints.”
Bad weather, including low clouds, and runway construction are also delaying Newark flights Friday.
The outage is the latest in a series of troubling technical problems that have impacted the air traffic control system in the United States.
On April 28, an outage of radar and communications at the same facility left controllers unable to talk to planes or see where they were located. As CNN previously reported, at least five controllers took 45 days of trauma leave after that incident, leading to a staffing shortage that canceled and delayed more than a thousand flights.
Thursday the Department of Transportation announced an overhaul of the nation’s air traffic control system.
“What we’re seeing through the system is, you know, hundreds of times a week, blips in connectivity, which is a sign that you’re seeing issues with your telecom,” Secretary Sean Duffy told CNN after the announcement.
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