NEWARK—The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued an interim order reducing the number of flights arriving to and departing from Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) following weeks of crippling flight congestion.
The order, issued and effective as of May 20, lowers the maximum number of flight arrivals and departures per airline every hour to 28 until June 15, when runway construction is scheduled to conclude. After June, the order allows for the maximum to increase to 34, remaining lower than the previous average of 40, through Oct. 25.
These ordered changes to Newark Liberty International Airport airline flight operations serve as an attempt to combat the overwhelming number of delays and cancellations plaguing the airport, a plague caused by a devastating combination of ongoing technology outages and staff shortages.
Coupled with temporary runway constructions and stormy weather, all of which have severely spiked worry and congestion at Newark Liberty International Airport over the past month.
In a news release issued on May 20, Acting FAA Administrator Chris Rocheleau said, “Our goal is to relieve the substantial inconvenience to the traveling public from excessive flight delays due to construction, staffing challenges, and recent equipment issues, which magnify as they spread through the National Airspace System.”
The order comes just days after United States Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy and officials of the FAA held an emergency meeting with major airline leaders at the FAA headquarters in Washington, D.C., from May 14-16.
During the meeting, attended by representatives of Allegiant Air, American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue Airways, Spirit Airlines and United Airlines, Secretary Duffy and FAA officials proposed that airlines temporarily limit their number of flight arrivals and departures to and from Newark Liberty International Airport.
That proposed temporary limit is now being enforced by the interim order.
Air traffic equipment technology outages
In recent weeks, Newark Liberty International Airport, one of the busiest airports in the country, has faced several alarming equipment failures.
In the early afternoon of Apr. 28, air traffic controllers at the Terminal Radar Approach Control lost radar images and radio communication. The Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) is the control center located in Philadelphia responsible for directing planes in and out of Newark Liberty International Airport.
This telecommunication outage left air traffic controllers unable to see the locations of planes for 90 seconds and unable to communicate with them for 30 seconds. All during the busy afternoon air traffic.
Unsurprisingly, the airport was immediately impacted by the incident. The technology outage led to a two-hour shutdown, consequently causing a ripple effect of flight delays and cancellations.
Similarly, during the early morning of May 9, the control center experienced another 90-second outage, adding to the already severely congested flight schedule in and out of Newark Liberty International Airport.
As the airport struggled to recover, just a few days later, on May 11, another telecommunication outage occurred. This time, leading to a 45-minute ground stop on traffic at the airport, furthering the congestion of scheduled flights as the number of delays and cancellations jumped again.
Most recently, the control center encountered another technical outage on May 19, with air traffic controllers briefly losing radio frequencies.
However, while these recent technology outages are a leading contributor to the airport’s congestion, the technical issues are rooted in a much larger issue seen across American control centers—outdated equipment.
In a news conference held outside of the Philadelphia TRACON, following the technology outage of April 28, U.S. Transportation Secretary Duffy said, “… what we’re seeing here at the Philadelphia TRACON can be what’s going to happen across the country,” regarding the technology outages due to outdated equipment.
He and the FAA credit much of the recent technology outages to failures of the aging lines carrying the radar signal. Some of those lines are old copper wires.
In another attempt to minimize the chaos at Newark Liberty International Airport, the recent meeting also featured talks on the implications of multiple technical advances to upgrade the operations of the control center.
This includes replacing those copper telecommunications connections with updated fiber-optic technology of higher bandwidth and speed, as well as deploying a temporary backup system to the Philadelphia TRACON.
In the long term, they are looking to Congress and the Trump Administration to fund nationwide system upgrades to improve the technology that control centers rely on. Yet, despite their immediate efforts, mass updates could take months, if not years, to be approved and completed.
And, even if upgrades are made to prevent technology outages, the issue of staff shortages could still remain.
Air Traffic Controller staff shortages
Like more than 90% of the country’s airport control towers, the Philadelphia TRACON controlling Newark Liberty International Airport’s airspace is severely understaffed.
In a statement released on May 13, the FAA wrote in part: “There is a nationwide shortage of air traffic controllers, and the FAA for years has not met the staffing goal for the area that works Newark airspace.”
While the FAA’s standards are to have 38 air traffic controllers, the agency currently only has 22 fully certified air traffic controllers and five supervisors assigned to Newark in the Philadelphia TRACON.
In addition to their already limited staff, the stressful technology outage on Apr. 28 prompted five controllers to take a 45-day trauma leave. Thus, cutting available staffers even further.
As a result of the worsening staff shortage, the ability of the fully certified air traffic controllers to adequately provide approach control services to aircraft arriving, departing or transiting the airspace has been reduced.
To combat this, the FAA is working to hire more controllers at a faster pace. Their plan is to shorten the amount of time it takes to apply for, start and graduate from the air traffic controller academy in Oklahoma City. Additionally, the agency wants to put in place more support for those going through the academy to encourage higher graduation rates.
However, with the completion of the FAA Air Traffic Controller Academy taking several months and post-graduation training spanning over multiple years, it could take months or years to see a high volume of fully certified air traffic controllers in the towers.
In the meantime, the FAA is offering bonuses to experienced controllers if they agree to temporarily opt-out of early retirement and continue working until the staffing conditions are more favorable.
Runway constructions, stormy weather
On April 15, nearly two weeks before the first technology outage, Newark Liberty International Airport advised that the full closure of their Runway 4L-22R for rehabilitation work would last until mid-June.
To minimize operational impacts during its closure, the FAA also began redirecting flight activity to the airport’s other runways. Yet, despite their efforts to minimize impact, with the now-closed runway being the airport’s busiest for departing flights, this closure is not without consequence.
Since the closure, the airport has experienced an average of 34 cancellations per day and “consistently high” delayed arrivals. On average, delay time in the busy hours can surpass two hours, making the construction that could make flying smoother in the future a burden on those looking to fly now.
In addition to the myriad of other issues, recent weather conditions have slowed traffic in and out of the airport as well. Thunderstorms, foggy skies and low-ceiling (cloudy) conditions have also led to the airport delaying and canceling flights as a safety measure.
What’s next?
Secretary Duffy, FAA officials and airline representatives remain in discussion over potential short-term solutions to the Newark Liberty International Airport woes. Simultaneously, they look to the United States government for long-term solutions.
In an emailed statement to The Final Call, President of the Air Line Pilots Association International, Captain Jason Ambrosi said in part, “The aviation industry stands united, and we are ready to share our collective expertise to help Congress develop legislation that modernizes and strengthens air traffic control operations.
As we continue to work together, it’s important to remember that our aviation system is still the safest in the world thanks to the tens of thousands of highly skilled professionals who work tirelessly every day.”
As for those looking to fly in or out of Newark Liberty International Airport in the days ahead, customers may need to brace themselves for bothersome delays and even cancellations.
—Yaminah Muhammad, Contributing Writer