FAA hit by new 90-second communications outage for Newark air traffic
The Federal Aviation Administration said Friday that it suffered a new outage at a Philadelphia facility overseeing air traffic at Newark Liberty airport, the latest in a string of equipment woes that have hindered traffic and raised public alarm.
The FAA said the telecommunications outage impacted communications and radar displays at Philadelphia Terminal Radar Approach Control that guides aircraft in and out of Newark Liberty around 3:55 a.m. ET on Friday and lasted approximately 90 seconds.
The FAA said Wednesday it was taking immediate steps to address ongoing problems that have disrupted hundreds of flights at Newark since April 28 especially from United Airlines, the largest carrier at the airport.
The FAA said it is increasing air traffic controller staffing, adding three new, high-bandwidth telecommunications connections and deploying a temporary backup system to the Philadelphia TRACON during the switch to a more reliable fiber-optic network.
The FAA did not immediately answer why the backup did not prevent Friday's incident.
Newark has been hit by runway construction, FAA equipment outages and air traffic control staffing shortages that prompted urgent calls from lawmakers for investigations and new funding.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Thursday controllers overseeing planes at the busy airport just outside New York lost contact with aircraft on April 28 for 30 to 90 seconds, an incident that raised serious alarm.
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