Latest news with #PhiladelphiaTRACON
CNN
19-05-2025
- CNN
FAA investigates brief communications outage at air traffic facility responsible for flights at Newark
The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating another radio outage at the troubled air traffic approach control facility responsible for flights approaching and departing Newark Liberty International Airport. The Newark terminal radar approach control facility, also known as Philadelphia TRACON Area C, experienced a radio outage for approximately two seconds around 11:35 a.m. Monday, the FAA said. All aircraft remained safely separated and operations are normal, the agency said, adding it is investigating. The outage comes after the FAA insisted new upgrades to the facility, which moved from Long Island to Philadelphia last July, would blunt new outages. After the May 11 outage, the FAA said a newly installed software patch and a backup line kicked in, though the agency implemented a 45-minute ground stop for Newark flights just in case. Monday, the FAA implemented new delays for flights to Newark averaging 23 minutes due to short air traffic controller staffing in the facility. A 90-second loss of radar coverage and radio communications on April 28 caused five controllers to take 45-day trauma leave, saddling the Newark airport with rolling flight delays. The outage is the latest after a series of failures that have occurred in recent weeks, cascaded by a facility experiencing staffing shortages and severe problems with decades-old technology. The issues have stretched beyond the New Jersey airport and unveiled a serious problem within the FAA's antiquated air traffic control system. Despite the challenges, Department of Transportation officials still say the system is safe. Three outages over the past several weeks placed Newark in the spotlight and punished passengers with severe delays and cancellations while the airport attempted to meet demand for the days ahead. On the afternoon of April 28, an outage of radar and communications at the same facility left controllers unable to talk to planes or see where they were. At least five controllers took 45 days of trauma leave after the incident, leading to a staffing shortage that canceled and delayed more than a thousand flights. On May 9, controllers handling flights approaching and departing Newark Airport experienced another blackout, losing radar for about 90 seconds early in the morning. Days later, on May 11, another telecommunications issue occurred at the Philadelphia TRACON, placing a brief ground stop on the airport's operations. Last week, airline leaders and the FAA met over a three-day period to discuss reducing the number of flights at Newark Airport. The FAA is proposing a maximum arrival rate of 28 aircraft an hour until the airport completes construction on its runway, with daily work expected to end June 15 and continue on Saturdays until the end of the year. After the construction period, the FAA said the maximum arrival rate would be 34 aircraft an hour until October 25. A final determination on arrival rates is expected at the end of May.
CNN
11-05-2025
- CNN
Another equipment outage impacts flights at Newark Liberty International Airport
Source: CNN Operations have returned to normal after another air traffic control equipment outage caused the Federal Aviation Administration to implement a ground stop for Newark Liberty International Airport-bound flights Sunday morning. 'There was a telecommunications issue at Philadelphia TRACON Area C, which guides aircraft in and out of Newark Liberty International Airport airspace,' the FAA said in a statement. 'The FAA briefly slowed aircraft in and out of the airport while we ensured redundancies were working as designed.' The ground stop, which means flights heading to Newark could not take off, lasted about 45 minutes, according to FAA air traffic advisories. Separately, on Sunday, the FAA issued a ground stop for some flights bound for Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport due to a runway equipment issue, separate from the issue impacting Newark. This comes after a 90-second-long radar and radio outage early Friday morning at the same Philadelphia-based TRACON facility handling flights departing from or arriving at Newark. A similar incident there, during a busy afternoon on April 28, caused five air traffic controllers in the facility to take trauma leave, which resulted in more than a thousand flights canceled. No flights diverted from the airport during Sunday's outage, according to the website FlightAware. About 67 flights are delayed and 79 canceled at Newark as of 11 a.m., the flight tracking site notes. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Sunday 'it is' safe to fly out of Newark airport, adding that flights will be scaled back at the airport in the interim while the issue is fixed. While noting that the system is 'old' and outdated, Duffy said on NBC's 'Meet the Press' he believes the 'glitch' will be fixed soon. He didn't say exactly how long delays and cancellations will last, but said, 'In the next several weeks, we're going to have this reduced capacity at Newark. I'm convening a meeting of all the airlines that serve Newark, get them to agree on how they're going to reduce the capacity. So you book, you fly.' 'We are building a new line that goes directly from Newark to the Philly Tracon, which controls the New York airspace,' Duffy said, adding he believes that will be complete by the end of the summer. Duffy also said he would offer 20% up-front bonuses to air traffic controllers. CNN's Kit Maher contributed to this report. See Full Web Article
Gizmodo
09-05-2025
- General
- Gizmodo
Radar Screens Go Dark at Newark Airport (Again)
Radar screens that monitor Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey went completely black for about 90 seconds early Friday morning, according to a new report from ABC News. The outage comes after an identical problem last week when air traffic control screens for the same airport went dark for about 60-90 seconds. The radar outage for Newark on Friday happened at 3:55 a.m., the FAA told Gizmodo over email. Air traffic control for Newark is handled in Philadelphia, where the actual screen outage occurred. '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 FAA said in a statement. A private plane was reportedly told to stay at or above 3,000 feet during the incident to avoid any possible collisions, according to ABC. Newark has been plagued with problems recently, including delays and terrifying outages. When screens went black on April 28 the scene was so harrowing that at least half a dozen air traffic controllers have requested mental health support. Their 'trauma leave' will allow them to take a break from work for up to 45 days. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy held a press conference on Thursday, warning that air traffic control systems need to be upgraded. And he recognized that Newark was a bad case, just a day before this morning's outage. 'If we don't actually accomplish the mission that we're announcing today, you will see Newarks, not just in Newark, you'll see Newarks in other parts of the country because it's an aging system,' Duffy said on Thursday. Duffy's press conference was extremely odd and opened with the Transportation Secretary calling President Donald Trump, putting him on speakerphone, and holding the phone up to the microphone. Duffy said he wants to build six new air traffic control centers and replace old equipment, noting that his systems still use copper wire rather than 'We use radar from the 1970s. Some of them are from the '80s, but most of them are from the '70s,' Duffy stressed. Duffy noted that there has been 'decades of neglect' to America's air traffic infrastructure, with a 'patchwork of fixes' and 'partial funding.' And while that's true, it costs real money to upgrade entire systems, something the former reality TV show host didn't provide specifics about, only noting it will cost 'billions.' Duffy will need to ask Congress for money to invest in air traffic control systems, something that might be difficult in a political landscape where Republicans only want to cut funding for essential services. Duffy himself was in Congress as a representative from Wisconsin during those 'decades of neglect,' and at least seemed to accept some of the blame with a smirk on his face. 'You can blame me for that, I was in Congress as well.' Turns out, it's a lot easier to obstruct funding of important infrastructure for America than to rally spending on it. So we'll see if Duffy and his buddy Trump can get some serious money allocated.
Toronto Star
06-05-2025
- Toronto Star
Newark Airport meltdown: What's behind the flight delays? When will they end?
For a week and counting, flying in and out of Newark Airport has inflicted misery on travelers. The cancellations and delays have been caused by a cascade of infrastructure failures and staffing issues that have ground air travel to a crawl. What's behind it the meltdown and when might it end? Here's what you need to know before you fly: How extensive are the delays out of Newark Airport? The delays and cancellations have been extensive. On Monday, more than 150 flights into and out of Newark were canceled as of midday and nearly 300 were delayed, according to flight tracking website FlightAware. Inbound flights contending with low cloud cover and ongoing air traffic control issues were delayed as much as 4 hours. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW The rainy-day delays capped what's now become a full week of pain for those traveling through the international airport, with days of hundreds of canceled flights and hours-long delays. What triggered the problem? The trouble started April 28, when sources tell the Daily News two unrelated air traffic control systems — the radar coverage of the north Jersey airspace and the telecommunications lines between the controllers and the local airport towers — failed shortly before 2 p.m. For two hours, Newark was effectively shut down, with no planes in or out. Newark airport radar loss left controllers blind for 90 seconds The systems were restored and flights resumed within three hours, but the outage exposed two weak links in an aging air traffic control infrastructure. Airplanes approaching or departing from an airport are handled by an air-traffic control system known as 'terminal radar approach control' — or TRACON. TRACON controllers are responsible for guiding a pilot's ascent or descent from an airport, bridging the gap between the local towers controlling planes at the airport, and the controllers tasked with directing planes already at cruising altitude. Until last year, New York TRACON — located in Nassau County — controlled the skies for all three major NYC airports: Newark, LaGuardia, and JFK. That was changed in July, when the FAA gave control of the north Jersey airspace — and the two-dozen air traffic controllers who were certified on it — to Philadelphia TRACON. The move was an effort to more evenly distribute the workload away from the chronically understaffed Long Island control center. But despite the reassignment, the radar feeds for the north Jersey airspace controllers rely on are still sent to New York TRACON, a source told The News. From there they must be sent on to Philadelphia — a situation that introduces latency into the system and can cause outages. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW A spokesman for the air traffic controller's union, NATCA, confirmed to The News Monday that last week's incident had effectively blinded Philadelphia TRACON. 'On Monday, April 28, air traffic controllers in Area C of the Philadelphia TRACON, who are responsible for separating and sequencing aircraft in and out of Newark Airport, temporarily lost radar and communications with the aircraft under their control, unable to see, hear, or talk to them,' read a statement distributed by NATCA spokesman Galen Munroe. United States Some of the 400 jobs that were cut at the FAA helped support air safety, a union says Tara Copp The Associated Press Did air traffic controllers walk off their jobs? Though traffic resumed quickly last Monday, delays soon followed due to another on the cascading series of problems: a shortage of air traffic controllers in Philadelphia. According to the controller's union, 'due to the event, the controllers took absence under the Federal Employees Compensation Act. This program covers all federal employees that are physically injured or experience a traumatic event on the job.' 'The controllers did not 'walk off the job,'' the statement added, refutating a statement from United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby, who used the phrase last week. Newark is a major hub for United. Sources told The News that five of the 25 controllers assigned to the Newark airspace took a leave of absence, a 20% reduction in the workforce. The reduced number of controllers has made it difficult for Newark keep flights on schedule, leading to the week of delays, and leading United to pull 10% of their flights from the airport. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Complicating matters even further, scheduled maintenance work has taken one of Newark's three runways — the North-South facing Runway 4L/22R — out of service until mid-June. When will the delays end? It's not clear. Newark won't have three working runways until the summer. The controllers' contract allows them take up to 45 days of leave. And sources say the radar and communication systems are old and could easily fail again. NATCA, the controllers' union, said it 'supports Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy's efforts to upgrade and modernize our nation's air traffic control systems and infrastructure,' but its not yet clear what those upgrades will be or what the timeline is for their installation. Last Thursday — three days after the outage — Duffy announced he would 'supercharge the air traffic controller workforce.' The secretary had announced a 30% increase in the base salary for trainees, as well as a $10,000 one-time bonus for new controllers headed to any of a list of 13 'hard to staff' control facilities. But as Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D – N.Y., said Monday that neither New York TRACON nor Philadelphia TRACON made Duffy's 'hard to staff' list. The Democratic leader made the remarks in a letter to the acting DOT inspector general, Mitch Behm, asking him to dig into the staffing and infrastructural problems surrounding New York metro air traffic control.
Chicago Tribune
06-05-2025
- Chicago Tribune
Newark Airport Meltdown: What's behind the flight delays? When will they end?
For a week and counting, flying in and out of Newark Airport has inflicted misery on travelers. The cancellations and delays have been caused by a cascade of infrastructure failures and staffing issues that have ground air travel to a crawl. What's behind it the meltdown and when might it end? Here's what you need to know befoire you fly: How extensive are the delays out of Newark Airport? They delays and cancellations have been extensive, Monday, more than 150 flights into and out of Newark were canceled as of midday and nearly 300 were delayed, according to flight tracking website FlightAware. On Tuesday the problems continued, with 102 cancellations and 200 delays as of noon. Inbound flights contending with low cloud cover and ongoing air traffic control issues were delayed as much as 4 hours. The rainy-day delays capped what's now become a full week of pain for those traveling through the international airport, with days of hundreds of canceled flights and hours-long delays. What triggered the problem? The trouble started April 28, when sources tell the Daily News two unrelated air traffic control systems — the radar coverage of the north Jersey airspace and the telecommunications lines between the controllers and the local airport towers — failed shortly before 2 p.m. For two hours, Newark was effectively shut down, with no planes in or out. The systems were restored and flights resumed within three hours, but the outage exposed two weak links in an aging air traffic control infrastructure. Airplanes approaching or departing from an airport are handled by an air-traffic control system known as 'terminal radar approach control' — or TRACON. TRACON controllers are responsible for guiding a pilot's ascent or descent from an airport, bridging the gap between the local towers controlling planes at the airport, and the controllers tasked with directing planes already at cruising altitude. Until last year, New York TRACON — located in Nassau County — controlled the skies for all three major NYC airports: Newark, LaGuardia, and JFK. That was changed in July, when the FAA gave control of the north Jersey airspace — and the two-dozen air traffic controllers who were certified on it — to Philadelphia TRACON. The move was an effort to more evenly distribute the workload away from the chronically understaffed Long Island control center. But despite the reassignment, the radar feeds for the north Jersey airspace controllers rely on are still sent to New York TRACON, a source told The News. From there they must be sent on to Philadelphia — a situation that introduces latency into the system and can cause outages. A spokesman for the air traffic controller's union, NATCA, confirmed to The News Monday that last week's incident had effectively blinded Philadelphia TRACON. 'On Monday, April 28, air traffic controllers in Area C of the Philadelphia TRACON, who are responsible for separating and sequencing aircraft in and out of Newark Airport, temporarily lost radar and communications with the aircraft under their control, unable to see, hear, or talk to them,' read a statement distributed by NATCA spokesman Galen Munroe. Did air traffic controllers walk off their jobs? Though traffic resumed quickly last Monday, delays soon followed due to another on the cascading series of problems: a shortage of air traffic controllers in Philadelphia. According to the controller's union, 'due to the event, the controllers took absence under the Federal Employees Compensation Act. This program covers all federal employees that are physically injured or experience a traumatic event on the job.' 'The controllers did not 'walk off the job,'' the statement added, refutating a statement from United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby, who used the phrase last week. Newark is a major hub for United. Sources told The News that five of the 25 controllers assigned to the Newark airspace took a leave of absence, a 20% reduction in the workforce. The reduced number of controllers has made it difficult for Newark keep flights on schedule, leading to the week of delays, and leading United to pull 10% of their flights from the airport. Complicating matters even further, scheduled maintenance work has taken one of Newark's three runways — the North-South facing Runway 4L/22R — out of service until mid-June. When will the delays end? It's not clear. Newark won't have three working runways until the summer. The controllers' contract allows them take up to 45 days of leave. And sources say the radar and communication systems are old and could easily fail again. NATCA, the controllers' union, said it 'supports Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy's efforts to upgrade and modernize our nation's air traffic control systems and infrastructure,' but its not yet clear what those upgrades will be or what the timeline is for their installation. Last Thursday — three days after the outage — Duffy announced he would 'supercharge the air traffic controller workforce.' The secretary had announced a 30% increase in the base salary for trainees, as well as a $10,000 one-time bonus for new controllers headed to any of a list of 13 'hard to staff' control facilities. But as Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D – N.Y.) said Monday that neither New York TRACON nor Philadelphia TRACON made Duffy's 'hard to staff' list. The Democratic leader made the remarks in a letter to the acting DOT inspector general, Mitch Behm, asking him to dig into the staffing and infrastructural problems surrounding New York metro air traffic control. Originally Published: May 6, 2025 at 12:15 PM CDT
