FAA increasing staffing at air traffic control center to ease Newark Airport delays
NEWARK, New Jersey (WABC) -- The FAA is working to bring in air traffic control supervisors from all over the country, in an effort to ease disruptions at Newark Airport, which have persisted for over a week.
It all started when an outage at Newark Liberty International Airport last Monday caused air traffic control computer screens to go dark for roughly 60 to 90 seconds, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the incident told ABC News. It prevented the controllers from talking to aircraft during this time as well.
A fried piece of copper wire sparked the temporary radar and communications blackout for air traffic controllers, sources say.
In the air traffic control recordings obtained by ABC News, you can hear an air traffic controller telling pilots that "approach lost all the radars. Three of the four radar screens went black and they have no frequency."
Following the outage, several controllers went on medical leave, calling the experience a traumatic event. The controllers are entitled to at least 45 days away from the job and must be evaluated by a doctor before they can return to work.
"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 union representing air traffic controllers said in a statement Monday.
The facility where controllers work the airspace around Newark airport is located in Philadelphia and was already short air traffic controllers. The current shortage has forced airlines to delay flights for hours over the last nine days.
Sources say the FAA is now trying to bring air traffic control supervisors from around the country to the ATC facility that controls the air space around Newark airport. The goal is to bring the most experienced people into provide emergency relief, however, this is not expected to be an overnight fix.
Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy is expected to announce some initiatives this week and is meeting with the airlines serving Newark Airport. Another plan is to keep controllers who are close to retirement on the job a little longer.
"These are best-equipped controllers that we have, so I've offered them a 20% upfront bonus of their salary to get them to stay on the job and not retire," Duffy said.
The travel nightmare at Newark Liberty International Airport continued Tuesday with at least 42 cancellations and 46 delays just before 8:30 a.m. If there was one consolation, however, there were less passengers packing the airport on Tuesday, making things a little more manageable for travelers.
Flight cancellations have increased at Newark in the wake of the outage, according to data from Cirium, an aviation analytics company. Since April 26, an average of 39 flights per day have been canceled, compared to an average of four flights per day canceled in April, according to Cirium. On-time performance has also degraded; Newark departures were on average about 80% on time prior to April 26 and have since fallen to 63%, below industry norms, Cirium found.
Newark was at the No. 1 spot of all airports in the world for delays and cancellations on Monday afternoon.
"Our antiquated air traffic control system is affecting our workforce," the FAA said in a statement Monday. "As [Transportation] Secretary [Sean] Duffy has said, we must get the best safety technology in the hands of controllers as soon as possible. We are working to ensure the current telecommunications equipment is more reliable in the New York area by establishing a more resilient and redundant configuration with the local exchange carriers. In addition, we are updating our automation system to improve resiliency."
Runway construction is another problem that has left the airport with just one to use at times.
Lawmakers are calling for immediate upgrades, staffing improvements and a review of the problems.
"So, the Port Authority should immediately look at it, as I know they have in the past, and put together an exact report of what they believe they need," said Congressman Josh Gottheimer.
In the meantime, United has issued a "flexibility" travel waiver that allows passengers traveling to and from Newark to reschedule their trip without any additional fees.
Newark's struggles also come just as the TSA steps up security. At midnight on Tuesday, the deadline to have a Real ID goes into effect.
(ABC News and The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
----------
* Get Eyewitness News Delivered
* Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts
Submit a tip or story idea to Eyewitness News
Have a breaking news tip or an idea for a story we should cover? Send it to Eyewitness News using the form below. If attaching a video or photo, terms of use apply.
