Air Traffic Control staffing, runway construction cause more problems at Newark airport
NEWARK, New Jersey (WABC) -- Passengers at Newark Liberty International Airport were dealing with more travel problems and delays on Thursday.
The issues appear to stem from three separate problems: an air traffic control staff shortage, bad weather in other parts of the country and construction on one of the runways.
"Challenges are continuing in Newark due to a combination of air traffic control staffing limitations, FAA technology outages, runway construction and gusty winds," United Airlines said in a statement on Thursday.
The airlines said they diverted 21 flights to alternate airports and delayed flights at their departure airports.
Acting FAA Administrator Chris Rocheleau says work needs to be done.
"We want to make sure that equipment is solid for the controllers who come to work every day, so they can depend on that equipment, and make sure they are properly trained," he said.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, on Thursday, talked about widening the training pipeline for new air traffic controllers, chronically understaffed, high stress positions that have been especially hard to fill in the New York area, which boasts some of the world's most crowded airspace.
"You're starting to see cracks in the system and it's our job to not wait until there's a disaster, but over the horizon and fix it before there's an incident we will seriously regret," Duffy said.
Duffy is expected to announce a plan to revamp air traffic control next week.
At one point on Thursday, the average arrival into Newark was delayed more than five hours, and the average departure delay was an hour and 25 minutes. At least 169 flights had been canceled and 332 were delayed.
There was a very brief air traffic control radio frequency outage around 1 a.m., and that caused flights heading to Newark to be diverted.
It comes after Monday's ground stop was also the result of equipment issues. They happened at the FAA airspace operations center in Philadelphia but added to the delays in Newark already caused by runway construction and ATC staffing.
Josh Kramer was in a Lyft on his way back home to Bergen County from Washington, D.C. after his flight from New Orleans to Newark was diverted to Dulles Airport in D.C. He was supposed to land at Newark around 11 p.m. on Wednesday.
"We sat on the tarmac from roughly 2 a.m. to 4 a.m. because that airport doesn't actually open until 4," Kramer said. "And so around 3:40 a.m., they started to mobilize, and they had us all parked."
Kramer is just one of thousands whose travel plans turned disastrous.
Dan Donohoe is on his way to his son's wedding, but his initial flight from Los Angeles to Dallas was diverted due to weather.
"We went to a new flight going from L.A.X. to Newark to Greenville, and then we got stuck on the tarmac for an hour and a half because they said Newark had air traffic control issues with equipment," Donohoe said. "And then when we got here at the later connecting flight, we missed that to go to Greenville."
Meantime, Minal Patel and her family are also struggling to make it to a wedding.
"As we are going to the gate to start boarding, they announced that the flight was canceled, didn't offer any flights to put us on and just said that we can go back to baggage carousel to pick up our bags," she said. "It just ruined the whole weekend."
The Port Authority says Newark is coordinating to help those impacted by the delays and cancellations.
The airlines are once again asking the FAA to extend a waiver that went into place several years ago that allows them to fly fewer flights into New York City without being penalized.
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