Since Friday there have been two more telecommunications
issues at the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration Philadelphia TRACON Area C
location, which is responsible for aircraft in and out of Newark Liberty
International Airport, according to the FAA.
One issue occurred the morning of May 11. The FAA
"briefly slowed aircraft in and out of the airport while we ensured
redundancies were working as designed. Operations have returned to
normal," the FAA wrote on X at 10:49 a.m.
There also was a telecommunications outage on May 9 at
approximately 3:55 a.m. The outage lasted about 90 seconds, according to the
FAA.
U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and
FAA Acting Administrator Chris Rocheleau directed the FAA to submit notice to
the Federal Register announcing a delay reduction meeting for Newark, which is
scheduled to take place May 14 at FAA headquarters, according to the agency.
The latest issues and meeting announcement come less than
two weeks after the April 28 equipment outage at the same location which also
resulted in air traffic controllers for Newark temporarily
losing radar and communications. The incident led some air traffic
controllers to take time off due to the trauma related to the event, according
to the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, the controllers' union.
The FAA has been slowing arrivals and departures at Newark
because of the staffing and technology issues, and construction occurring at
the airport, the FAA announced May 7. The agency also said it is accelerating
technological and logistical improvements and increasing air traffic controller
staffing to "improve the reliability of operations" at Newark.
United Airlines on May 2 announced it would reduce
its schedule by 35 flights per day because of the persistent delays. In
addition, the carrier is advocating for Newark to be returned to a Level 3
slot-controlled airport.
"This is the ONLY way to achieve 77 flights per
hour," United CEO Scott Kirby said in a May 7 statement. "The FAA
tells us that the airport can only handle 77 flights per hour. And yet, the FAA
regularly approves schedules of 80-plus flights per hour almost every day
between 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. This math doesn't work."
Newark was a Level 3 slot-controlled airport, like John F.
Kennedy International Airport and LaGuardia Airport are, until 2016, when it
was moved to a Level 2 airport. Level 3 airports are subject to stricter
regulations, such as capping movements to the airport's maximum capacity, which
in Newark's case is 77 flights per hour.
In addition, Secretary Duffy on May 8 unveiled plans for a new
air traffic control system, and projected that it could be operational
within three years.
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