Latest news with #flightrestrictions
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Yahoo
FAA limits flights at Newark airport for the rest of 2025
June 7 (UPI) -- Arrivals and departures are limited for the rest of the year at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey. The restrictions took effect on Friday and limit arrivals and departures to 28 per hour on weekends while airport construction occurs from Sept. 1 through Dec. 31, the Federal Aviation Administration announced on Friday. Arrivals and departures also are limited to no more than 34 per hour during other periods through Oct. 25. "The confirmed reduced rates will maintain safety while alleviating excessive flight delays at the airport due to staffing and equipment challenges," the FAA announcement says. "The early completion of runway construction at the airport that added to the delays will also contribute to a more efficient operation." Similar travel restrictions "paid dividends" by enabling "smooth travel into and out of Newark" over the Memorial Day holiday, according to the FAA. Officials at the federal agency recently met with airline representatives to discuss problems at the Newark airport that triggered long delays and flight cancellations that left many air passengers stranded for hours and sometimes longer. The discussions led to the current flight restrictions while undertaking several improvements at the airport and regionally. The FAA is working to improve operations at the Newark airport by adding three new high-bandwidth telecommunications links between New York-based hubs and the Philadelphia-based terminal radar approach control system for regional air traffic control. Old copper telecommunications connections will be replaced with fiber-optic technology for greater bandwidth and speed, and a temporary backup system to the Philadelphia-based TRACON system will be active while improvements are done. The FAA also is increasing air traffic controller staffing by adding 22 fully certified controllers and five fully certified supervisors at the Newark airport and others in the area. "The U.S. Department of Transportation and the FAA will continue working with all stakeholders to ensure that the airport is a safe, efficient and functional gateway for passengers and air crews," the FAA announcement says.
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Travel + Leisure
2 days ago
- Travel + Leisure
FAA Warns About Washington, D.C.-area Flight Disruptions in June—What Travelers Should Know
Travelers might want to look closely at their airline itineraries along the East Coast in the coming weeks, as a major airport is planning to restrict flights later this month. On June 14, officials will restrict airspace at Ronald Regan Washington National Airport (DCA) due to a special military parade taking place in the nation's capital. Ground traffic in Washington, D.C., is also expected to be impacted due to road closures and military flight paths. 'To accommodate aircraft flyovers along the parade route, followed by a fireworks display, the Federal Aviation Administration is expected to suspend airline operations at DCA, affecting scheduled flights,' a representative for Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport shared on its website. Even if Washington, D.C., isn't a traveler's final destination, airline passengers should keep in mind that connections at Reagan Airport could also be disrupted due to the flight restrictions. A senior government official reportedly told NBC News that the ground stop is expected to impact 116 flights. Reagan Airport encourages passengers to reach out to their individual airlines and make accommodations to rebook if they are flying to the airport on the evening of June 14. For people traveling by car, the airport provides guidance to utilize public transportation if they need to get to the airport amid the road closures. "There could be some disruption to the airspace at times," D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said in a statement. "We don't know when that is, but that could affect, for short periods of time, air travel." There were no published advisories for other nearby airports, such as Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD). Dulles is located farther away from Downtown D.C. than Regan Airport, which is less than three miles from the National Mall. The parade is in recognition of the 250th Anniversary of the Army, which was founded on June 14, 1775. 'Attendees will experience 250 years of Army heritage through historical U.S. Army personnel reenactors, period-accurate equipment, vehicles, impressive flyovers, and military bands participating in this landmark event,' the event website shares. The programming is scheduled to run from 6:30 p.m. EDT through 9:30 p.m. EDT. The parade takes place in Washington, along Constitution Avenue between 15th Street and 23rd Street.
Washington Post
20-05-2025
- Washington Post
FAA extends flight limits at Newark airport into June because of controller shortage and tech issues
The flight restrictions that have been in place at New Jersey's largest airport ever since air traffic controllers first lost their radar and radios briefly last month will remain in place into June, the Federal Aviation Administration announced Tuesday. The interim rule will cap the number of arrivals and departures at Newark Liberty International Airport at 28 apiece per hour. That's in line with the limits imposed after about half a dozen controllers went on a 45-day trauma leave following the first outage on April 28 .
The Independent
20-05-2025
- The Independent
FAA extends flight limits at Newark airport into June because of controller shortage and tech issues
The flight restrictions that have been in place at New Jersey 's largest airport ever since air traffic controllers first lost their radar and radios briefly last month will remain in place into June, the Federal Aviation Administration announced Tuesday. The interim rule will cap the number of arrivals and departures at Newark Liberty International Airport at 28 apiece per hour. That's in line with the limits imposed after about half a dozen controllers went on a 45-day trauma leave following the first outage on April 28. In mid-June, the limit might be bumped up after a runway construction project largely wraps up, and the controllers on leave would be scheduled to return. After that, the FAA has said it might be able to increase the limit to 34 arrivals and 34 departures an hour, which would bring it closer to the 38 or 39 flights that typically took off and landed hourly before the problems. The FAA has taken a number of steps to address the technical problems with a software update and new fiber optic lines that seemed to have helped keep the radar online even during subsequent disruptions. But a longer-term fix of building a new radar system at the Philadelphia facility that directs planes in and out of the airport will likely take months, and even after that, the aging infrastructure may remain vulnerable. 'Our goal is to relieve the substantial inconvenience to the traveling public from excessive flight delays due to construction, staffing challenges, and recent equipment issues, which magnify as they spread through the National Airspace System,' acting FAA Administrator Chris Rocheleau said. For now, the airlines that fly out of Newark will likely have to cut their schedules to match the limits. Once fewer flights are scheduled each day, there will likely be fewer cancellations, although operations at the airport have been much smoother this week with many fewer cancellations and delays. Twice in the past month, the radar and communications systems that Philadelphia air traffic controllers who direct planes in and out of Newark rely on failed for a short time. That happened because the main line that carries the radar signal down from another FAA facility in New York failed, and the backup line didn't work immediately. The controllers were unable to see or communicate with the planes around Newark Airport for as long as 90 seconds on April 28 and May 9. The lines — some of which were old copper wires — failed a third time May 11, but the backup system worked and the radar stayed online. The FAA said a fourth outage Monday knocked out radio communications for two seconds, but the radar stayed online. After the initial outage, the already shorthanded control center in Philadelphia lost five to seven controllers to trauma leave. That left the airport unable to handle all the scheduled flights, leading to hundreds of cancellations and delays. The FAA quickly limited the number of flights in Newark to between 24 and 28 arrivals and the same number of departures every hour to ensure the remaining controllers could handle them safely. At times when controller staffing has been especially lean because of sick leave, the FAA has limited traffic even further. Officials have said the problems affecting the Newark airport are a prime example of why the entire air traffic control system nationwide needs to be overhauled. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced a multibillion-dollar plan to upgrade the nation's aging air traffic control system earlier this month. The House tentatively included $12.5 billion in the overarching bill that Republicans are trying to pass now, but officials have called that amount just a down payment on the overall plan.
Associated Press
20-05-2025
- Associated Press
FAA extends flight limits at Newark airport into June because of controller shortage and tech issues
The flight restrictions that have been in place at New Jersey's largest airport ever since air traffic controllers first lost their radar and radios briefly last month will remain in place into June, the Federal Aviation Administration announced Tuesday. The interim rule will cap the number of arrivals and departures at Newark Liberty International Airport at 28 apiece per hour. That's in line with the limits imposed after about half a dozen controllers went on a 45-day trauma leave following the first outage on April 28. In mid-June, the limit might be bumped up after a runway construction project largely wraps up, and the controllers on leave would be scheduled to return. After that, the FAA has said it might be able to increase the limit to 34 arrivals and 34 departures an hour, which would bring it closer to the 38 or 39 flights that typically took off and landed hourly before the problems. The FAA has taken a number of steps to address the technical problems with a software update and new fiber optic lines that seemed to have helped keep the radar online even during subsequent disruptions. But a longer-term fix of building a new radar system at the Philadelphia facility that directs planes in and out of the airport will likely take months, and even after that, the aging infrastructure may remain vulnerable. 'Our goal is to relieve the substantial inconvenience to the traveling public from excessive flight delays due to construction, staffing challenges, and recent equipment issues, which magnify as they spread through the National Airspace System,' acting FAA Administrator Chris Rocheleau said. For now, the airlines that fly out of Newark will likely have to cut their schedules to match the limits. Once fewer flights are scheduled each day, there will likely be fewer cancellations, although operations at the airport have been much smoother this week with many fewer cancellations and delays. Twice in the past month, the radar and communications systems that Philadelphia air traffic controllers who direct planes in and out of Newark rely on failed for a short time. That happened because the main line that carries the radar signal down from another FAA facility in New York failed, and the backup line didn't work immediately. The controllers were unable to see or communicate with the planes around Newark Airport for as long as 90 seconds on April 28 and May 9. The lines — some of which were old copper wires — failed a third time May 11, but the backup system worked and the radar stayed online. The FAA said a fourth outage Monday knocked out radio communications for two seconds, but the radar stayed online. After the initial outage, the already shorthanded control center in Philadelphia lost five to seven controllers to trauma leave. That left the airport unable to handle all the scheduled flights, leading to hundreds of cancellations and delays. The FAA quickly limited the number of flights in Newark to between 24 and 28 arrivals and the same number of departures every hour to ensure the remaining controllers could handle them safely. At times when controller staffing has been especially lean because of sick leave, the FAA has limited traffic even further. Officials have said the problems affecting the Newark airport are a prime example of why the entire air traffic control system nationwide needs to be overhauled. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced a multibillion-dollar plan to upgrade the nation's aging air traffic control system earlier this month. The House tentatively included $12.5 billion in the overarching bill that Republicans are trying to pass now, but officials have called that amount just a down payment on the overall plan.
