NEWARK, N.J. (KYW Newsradio/ AP) — Passengers with flights to or from Newark Liberty International Airport are encountering long delays and cancellations due to an air traffic controller shortage and a system outage. Officials said issues at a Philadelphia air traffic control facility triggered the chaos.
The delays at the busy airport outside New York City made headlines over the weekend as United Airlines cut 35 daily flights from its schedule. As of Monday, the Federal Aviation Administration attributed arriving flight delays of nearly four hours to a combination of staffing and cloud cover.
Here’s a closer look at what to know about the delays.
How did Philly contribute to the Newark chaos?
According to the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), a specific outage at the Philadelphia Terminal Radar Approach Control Facility (TRACON) on April 28 triggered the delays.
Controllers at the Philly facility are tasked with tracking flights in and out of Newark. NATCA said they “temporarily lost radar and communications with the aircraft under their control, unable to see, hear, or talk to them.” The screens went dark for about 90 seconds, according to reports.
Because of the chaos, confusion and stress from this outage and others, officials said about six controllers — 20% of TRACON staff — called out last week. Officials said this is considered to be a traumatic work event, and if approved, workers can take up to 45 days off.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy visited the Philadelphia TRACON on Friday and spoke to the media about the need to upgrade the technology.
“The system that we’re using in air traffic control is incredibly old,” he said. “This system is 25 to 30 years old. We use floppy disks. We use copper wires.”
What else is behind the delays?
United CEO Scott Kirby said in a letter to customers over the weekend that the technology used to manage planes at the New Jersey airport failed more than once in recent days.
The flight delays, cancellations and diversions that the equipment problems caused were compounded when more than one-fifth of Newark’s traffic controllers “walked off the job,” he said.
However, NATCA pushed back at the claim that controllers “walked off the job.” In a statement, it said, “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 FAA issued a statement Monday saying some controllers who work on flight arrivals and departures from Newark have taken time off to recover from stress associated with recent outages.
“Our antiquated air traffic control system is affecting our workforce,” the FAA said.
Faulting the FAA’s alleged failure to address “long-simmering” challenges related to the air-traffic control system, United Airlines cut 35 daily flights from its Newark schedule starting Saturday.
What’s the broader issue with air traffic control?
The Trump administration has said an “obsolete” air traffic control system needs to be fixed.
The administration says it’s been trying to “supercharge” the air traffic controller workforce and address the nation’s shortage of controllers. Last week, Duffy announced a program to recruit new controllers and give existing ones incentives not to retire.
NATCA said at the time that those moves could help address staffing shortages, but it also said the system is “long overdue for technology and infrastructure upgrades.”
U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called for an inspector general’s investigation into the delays and cancellations to prevent them from getting worse or spreading. New Jersey Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy called the delays “completely and utterly unacceptable” in a post on X.
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Uncertainty at play?
United’s decision to pare back its flight schedule in Newark comes at an already uncertain period for U.S. airlines. Potential customers across the industry are reconsidering whether to fly for work or for vacation, given all the unknowns about what President Donald Trump’s trade war will do to the economy.
Uncertainty is so high that United recently made the unusual move of offering two separate forecasts for how it could perform financially this year: one if there were a recession and one if not.
United flies to 76 U.S. cities and 81 international destinations from Newark.
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