Last week, Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey was thrown back into the national spotlight after air traffic control equipment issues and staffing challenges caused thousands of flight delays. Radar screens went dark and frequencies failed, leaving controllers temporarily unable to control traffic and customers stranded. United Airlines, by far the largest user of the airport, announced on May 2 it would cut service from Newark, with CEO Scott Kirby saying it has “no other choice in order to protect our customers.”
Equipment and staffing issues at Newark are not new. They highlight the broader air traffic controller staffing crises raging across the country combined issues specific to the New York City airspace, creating a perfect storm of challenges. With that in mind, The Air Current is providing a curated list of essential reading on the topic that explains the background behind the Newark airspace’s longstanding management issues, why equipment failures keep happening and the effects they have on controllers.
At the center of the issue is a controversial decision by the Federal Aviation Administration to relocate the radar sector that controls Newark out of the New York Terminal Radar Approach Control facility on Long Island to a radar facility in Philadelphia last year. TAC’s deeply reported feature, The long and uncertain road to fixing America’s most snarled airspace, examines exactly how the agency has executed on that plan — one it was banking on to fix the systemic staffing and culture issues at the Newark radar sector.
Shortly after publication, radar system outages roiled the area over the September Labor Day holiday in 2024, exposing cracks in the technology used to complete the move to Philadelphia. TAC was first to report that the FAA knew of the potential for radar issues before the Labor Day Newark failures occurred. The agency said at the time it would be implementing a temporary fix within “months,” yet TAC also found that the agency internally estimated it would take five years to implement a more permanent solution.
The severity of the Labor Day outages somewhat subsided, but aftershocks continued in the months following. In November 2024, several Newark controllers claimed equipment outages caused workplace trauma after some in the sector briefly lost the ability to communicate with aircraft over the radios, in addition to other radar issues. The claims activated workers compensation law protections, allowing the controllers to take medical leave, exacerbating an already acute shortage of staff. TAC understands that several controllers also took trauma leave following last week’s equipment failures.
Do you have a question about the Newark air traffic control issues? Do you work at the FAA or in the ATC industry and have feedback about TAC’s reporting? Reach out to will@theaircurrent.com.
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