Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says he plans to reduce the number of flights in and out of Newark’s airport for the 鈥渘ext several weeks鈥 as it struggles with radar outages and other issues, including another Sunday that again slowed air traffic.
Speaking on NBC鈥檚 鈥淢eet the Press” that aired Sunday, Duffy said he will meet this week with all major carriers flying through Newark Liberty International, New Jersey鈥檚 largest airport. He said the number of flight cutbacks would fluctuate by time of day with most targeting afternoon hours when international arrivals make the airport busier.
In addition to equipment outages, the airport has been been beset by brought on by a .
鈥淲e want to have a number of flights that if you book your flight, you know it鈥檚 going to fly, right?鈥 he said. 鈥淭hat is the priority. So you don鈥檛 get to the airport, wait four hours, and then get delayed.鈥
The Federal Aviation Administration reported a 鈥渢elecommunications issue鈥 as the latest setback Sunday, impacting a facility in Philadelphia that directs planes in and out of Newark airport. An FAA statement said the agency briefly slowed air traffic to and from the airport while ensuring 鈥渞edundancies were working as designed鈥 before normal operations resumed.
Infrastructure issues are increasingly a key concern at airports around the country.
In an unrelated incident, Sunday at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport 鈥 one of the world鈥檚 busiest 鈥 because of a runway equipment issue. The FAA said in a statement that it temporarily slowed arrivals into Atlanta while technicians worked to address the problem.
In Newark, Sunday’s disruptions came two days after radar at the Philadelphia facility went black for 90 seconds at 3:55 a.m. Friday, an episode that was similar to an .
The Trump administration recently proposed a of the U.S. air traffic control system, envisioning six new air traffic control centers and technology and communications upgrades at all of the nation鈥檚 air traffic facilities over the next three or four years.
The FAA said last week that it slows the rate of arrivals into Newark to ensure safety whenever staffing or equipment issues arise. The agency also noted that frequent equipment and telecommunications outages can be stressful, prompting some air traffic controllers to take time off “to recover from the stress.鈥
鈥淲hile we cannot quickly replace them due to this highly specialized profession, we continue to train controllers who will eventually be assigned to this busy airspace,鈥 the FAA said in a May 5 statement.
On average, there had been 34 arrival cancellations per day since mid-April at Newark, according to the FAA, with the number of delays increasing throughout the day from an average of five in the mornings to 16 by the evening. The delays tended to last 85 to 137 minutes on average.
Duffy said in his TV appearance Sunday that he wants to raise the mandatory retirement age for air traffic controllers from 56 to 61, as he tries to navigate a shortage of about 3,000 people in that specialized position.
And he also spoke of wanting to give those air traffic controllers a 20% upfront bonus to stay on the job. However, he says many air traffic controllers choose to retire after 25 years of service, which means many retire around the age of 50.
鈥淭hese are not overnight fixes,鈥 Duffy said. 鈥淏ut as we go up 鈥 one, two years, older guys on the job, younger guys coming in, men and women 鈥 we can make up that 3,000-person difference.鈥
Adding more air traffic controllers is in contrast to a top priority of the Trump administration 鈥 slashing jobs in nearly all other federal agencies.
However, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said on CBS’ 鈥淔ace the Nation鈥 that Duffy deserves credit for putting 鈥渃aution tape鈥 around FAA safety functions and separating those personnel from cost-cutting by Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency 鈥 DOGE.
Kirby said United has already reduced its schedule at Newark and will meet with Duffy later this week. He expects a deeper cut in capacity to last until June 15 when construction work on one of Newark’s runways is expected to be complete, though he thinks some reductions will last throughout the summer.
鈥淲e have fewer flights, but we keep everything safe, and we get the airplane safely on the ground,鈥 Kirby said. 鈥淪afety is number one, and so I鈥檓 not worried about safety. I am worried about customer delays and impacts.鈥
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