Several major airlines are facing ongoing flight disruptions at New Jersey’s Newark Liberty International Airport as the facility contends with ongoing staffing and technology issues.
Last week, air traffic controllers at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) facility in Philadelphia lost radar and radio signals while directing planes to Newark for nearly 90 seconds, causing significant delays and flight cancellations that remain ongoing.
However, there have been longstanding issues in the air traffic control system, including persistent staffing shortages, outdated technology and chronic underinvestment in critical infrastructure. The situation at Newark, though, has been further strained by ongoing construction at the airport, which is temporarily operating with only one of its parallel runways.
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American Airlines said that its customers have also been impacted.
“The challenges in Newark have led to delays and disruptions for airlines and their customers – including American – and demonstrate the urgent need to staff up and modernize our air traffic control system,” the carrier said in a statement to FOX Business.
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby told customers in a note on Friday that the technology failure resulted in “dozens of diverted flights, hundreds of delayed and canceled flights and, worst of all, thousands of customers with disrupted travel plans.”
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To try and minimize the impact that this will have on customers, Kirby said the carrier is unilaterally canceling 35 round-trip flights per day from its Newark schedule, which has already been reduced.
“It’s disappointing to make further cuts to an already reduced schedule at Newark, but since there is no way to resolve the near-term structural FAA staffing issues, we feel like there is no other choice in order to protect our customers,” Kirby added.
Lufthansa told FOX Business that it is also “experiencing some delays.”
“Our team at Newark is working to make sure that operations are going as smoothly as possible and that we serve our customers with the utmost care,” the German carrier said in a statement.
While Delta Air Lines said it’s canceling “minimal” flights at Newark, there are still departure and arrival delays driven by the air traffic control delay programs. The carrier has roughly 30 daily departures at the airport, including those operated by its global partners.
If there is a cancellation, the carrier will re-book customers to the next best available itinerary, which could include its hubs at nearby LaGuardia and JFK.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AAL | AMERICAN AIRLINES GROUP INC. | 10.66 | +0.14 | +1.33% |
| UAL | UNITED AIRLINES HOLDINGS INC. | 74.86 | +0.79 | +1.07% |
| DAL | DELTA AIR LINES INC. | 45.51 | +1.31 | +2.96% |
The FAA addressed the staffing shortages that have contributed to Newark’s issues, saying in a statement that while it “cannot quickly replace [the controllers who have left] due to this highly specialized profession, we continue to train controllers who will eventually be assigned to this busy airspace.”
The agency said it is on track to hire at least 2,000 controllers this year after its supercharged hiring campaign, which increased the starting salary for academy trainees by 30%.
The agency said Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy streamlined hiring by changing the old eight-step hiring process at the FAA to a five-step process. This has already shaved five months off the old hiring process, the FAA said.
