Newark Liberty International Airport’s airspace was plunged into darkness early Friday after yet another air traffic control outage, the Federal Aviation Administration confirmed.
The outage, which occurred at 4 a.m., lasted for around 90 seconds but still affected a number of different sectors, the FAA reported. The blackout was all the more troubling after a similar loss of radio contact with planes flying into the airport in recent months.
“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. “The outage occurred around 3:55 a.m. on Friday, May 9, and lasted approximately 90 seconds.”
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FAA sources confirmed that a telecommunications outage hit a radar display at Philadelphia TRACON Area C.
Rep. Josh Gottimer told reporters the latest outage was “big news” for the troubled airport.
“My understanding is there was yet another outage in the last hours, another 90 second outage of radar and radio in the region. That’s the second time in a matter of days,” the New Jersey Democrat said at a press conference outside Newark airport on Friday.
The incident is the latest in a series of communications blackouts so severe that around 20 percent of Newark’s air traffic controllers have been placed on “trauma leave” to recover from the stress.
On April 28, a “fried piece of copper wire” caused all air traffic comms at Newark Liberty International Airport to temporarily go offline, leaving controllers “unable to see, hear, or talk” to any aircraft under their control.
“It was just by the grace of God that there wasn‘t another plane in its way,” an air traffic controller told CNN. “We all expected what happened in D.C. to happen here.”
Earlier this week it was revealed a veteran air traffic controller at Newark had also retired just days after another traumatic near-miss last August left at least dozen planes with support after a third-party technician accidentally cut the data feed.
“Attention all aircraft. Radar contact is lost. Radar contact is lost,” the controller barked, while attempting to direct the six planes from memory. The stress of the incident was so great that the decades-long veteran retired just days later.
Staffing levels amongst air traffic controllers has been spread thin nationwide in recent months, bolstered by a high number of terminations and voluntary resignations as part of a cost-cutting exercise by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
“DOGE is helping us cut out the woke nonsense, prioritize innovation, and remain mission-focused,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy bragged in March. “This is how we deliver for the American people and usher in a Golden Age of travel.”
The staff reduction has been particularly noticeable at Newark, with the lack of controllers creating a knock-on effect of hundreds of cancellations, reduced flights and days-long delays.
Newark is “not safe. It is not a safe situation right now for the flying public,” an air traffic controller told MSNBC’s Tom Costello last week. “Don’t fly into Newark. Avoid Newark at all costs.”
Duffy has not spoken directly about the situation at Newark, but pledged to spend billions on upgrading air traffic control infrastructure during a press conference last week.
His words were swiftly undercut though after he posted a tone-deaf photo of himself enjoying tacos prepared by his “#LatinaWife” on Monday at the exact same time thousands of passengers found themselves stranded at Newark airport after traumatized air traffic controllers were forced to walk out of the job.
Donald Trump blamed former president Joe Biden and his transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg for the ongoing air traffic control issues, despite them occurring on his watch.
In a Truth Social post on Wednesday, the president wrote: “Air Traffic problems caused by the incompetent Biden Administration, as headed by, in this case, a total novice and political hack, Pete B. I WILL FIX IT!!!”
Duffy says he hopes to reduce the shortage of air traffic controllers as soon as possible, but admits the problem cannot be solved overnight due to the length of time it takes to effectively train for the role—around two years.
“We’re hoping in three to four years we can get to full staffing, not 20 years,” Duffy said last week. “How do you make up the gap? We can’t snap our fingers to make up the numbers.”
