The long and uncertain road to fixing America’s most snarled airspace

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HEAR FROM THE AIR CURRENT

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On Aug. 21, 2020, a two-page letter arrived at the offices of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA). The letter, sent by the Federal Aviation Administration, officially declared the agency’s intention to permanently move the Newark sector of the New York Terminal Radar Approach Control facility (N90 TRACON) and temporarily relocate a team of controllers to the Philadelphia TRACON in an effort to fix what it was calling a “critical staffing shortfall.”

That shortfall has sent ripples across the entire national airspace system for years — at one point, a 2008 Government Accountability Office report estimated that a staggering 40% of nationwide delays originate in some way from the New York area. N90, which is split into five sectors that surround each of the major airports in New York, is currently staffed at just 61% of its maximum authorized hiring level. The FAA says the airspace around the Newark airport is worse at just 52% (33 out of 63 certified controllers), far below the 85% the agency considers to be “healthy.”

Four years after the letter arrived at NATCA offices, the relocation of controllers and equipment officially went into effect on July 28, a solution the FAA hopes will meet two objectives. First, by moving the Newark sector out of Long Island, space is freed up for other N90 sectors to expand and recover their staffing levels. Simultaneously, staffing for the now consolidated Newark sector should improve as the relocated controllers train a cohort waiting in Philadelphia for their shot at the Newark airspace — or at least that’s what the agency aims to achieve.

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So far, United Airlines, which is the biggest user of Newark’s Liberty International Airport, is encouraged by the promise of a better operation, a spokesperson told The Air Current. However, there are reasons to doubt whether the FAA’s strategy will be effective, according to a review of agency documents, interviews with relocated controllers and an analysis of past consolidation efforts. The inherent complexity of Newark airspace, which handles over 1,200 flights a day in a relatively small geographical area, could make training in the Philadelphia facility more challenging, and there is no historical data to support claims that the relocation will improve training success rates.

The persistent congestion of the busiest airspace in the country wasn’t created overnight, and it has been a battleground for the FAA, Congress, NATCA and the controllers for decades. Against a backdrop of continuing conflict and efforts by Congressional leaders to block the move, TAC set out to explore a single central question: can the FAA’s plan actually solve Newark’s staffing and delay problems? The answer is it might — but even if it does, it’s going to take time.

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