United CEO reassures travelers that Newark airport is safe
NEWARK, New Jersey (WABC) -- The head of United Airlines tried to reassure air travelers on Tuesday that flying in and out of Newark Liberty International Airport is safe, in the wake of an FAA air traffic controller shortage and radar outages.
"It is safe across the country and the back up procedures keep it safe," United CEO Scott Kirby said.
The delays continued at Newark Liberty International Airport on Monday evening with average backups of more than 1 1/2 hours. This time it wasn't caused by technical failures, but a shortage of air traffic controllers that has been made worse because several of them went on leave due after the first radar outage under a 45-day trauma leave, said Federal Aviation Administration spokesperson Kristen Alsop.
The FAA had already restricted traffic into Newark after the first incident due to the staffing shortages. Those limits, designed to keep flights safe, combined with an ongoing runway construction project in Newark, has created lingering cancellations and delays.
Airlines will meet with Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy in Washington on Wednesday to discuss how many flights will originate at Newark airport for the rest of the summer.
Problems at Newark emerged on April 28 when the radar and communications systems went offline briefly, leaving controllers unable to see or talk to the planes.
The issues at Newark airport were a big topic at the New Jersey gubernatorial debate on Monday night.
"What we need to do is actually bring in more air traffic controllers, we can bring them from the military, we can bring them from around the country where places have the capacity to bring them here, and the technology is a disaster, it's 1973 technology, we actually have to get these dollars in right away," Rep. Josh Gottheimer said.
"With all due respect, our Congress needs to hold hearings to get to the bottom of this because this is a federal problem affecting a lot of New Jerseyans," Steve Sweeney said.
At an event on Tuesday, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy said the situation at the airport is unacceptable.
"We're on at the highest levels with the Trump team, with the Port Authority, with the United Airlines CEO, with the airport operations, not for a lack of having access, but this has got to get fixed," he said.
Transportation Secretary Duffy said the radar outages are being addressed with new fiber optic lines but the staffing issues will take longer.
As a result, United Airlines, which operates the most flights at Newark, is scaling back its offerings.
"What we're doing is matching the number of flights at the airport to the amount that the the FAA says they can handle. If we do that it eliminates the delays for customers," Kirby said.
A new software update prevented a third radar outage in the last two weeks at New Jersey's busy Newark airport when a telecommunications line failed again over the weekend, Duffy said Monday.
He also said the recent problems that have led to hundreds of cancellations and delays in Newark could have been avoided had action been taken by President Joe Biden's administration to better equip the air traffic control facility in Philadelphia - particularly after issues with the hardware in October and November that should have set off alarms.
ALSO READ: Radar went black for air traffic controllers at Newark airport again
Duffy said Sunday that he also plans 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.
He plans 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.
"These are not overnight fixes," Duffy said. "But as we go up, one, two years, older guys on the job, younger guys coming in, men and women - we can make up that 3,000-person difference."
Duffy laid out an extensive plan to replace the nation's outdated air traffic control system last week, including installing 4,600 new high-speed data connections and replacing 618 radars, but didn't put a price tag on the plan other than to say it will cost billions.
The FAA has installed new fiber optic lines at Newark airport and New York's Kennedy International and LaGuardia airports to replace old copper wires since the first outage, but plans to spend the next two weeks testing those new lines out before switching over to them.
ALSO READ: Duffy vows to overhaul ATC system, fix problems at Newark Airport
ABC News and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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