Transport Secretary Sean Duffy said there was a glitch, “When the information comes in…and the system is down.”
Newar Liberty International Airport in New Jersey experienced another air traffic equipment outage on May 11, and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a temporary ground stop for all flights detained at the airport.
Although specific details of the suspension were not explained in the recommendation, the FAA confirmed the incident during the Epoch era.
“Philadelphia Tracon Area C had a telecommunications issue leading aircraft in and out of the airspace of Newar Liberty International Airport,” a FAA spokesman wrote in a statement. “The FAA temporarily slowed down aircraft both inside and outside the airport, ensuring redundancy works as designed. Operations have returned to normal.”
A similar incident occurred on a busy afternoon on April 28th, with 30 seconds of communication between the plane and the Control Tower. As a result of the incident, five air traffic controllers from the control facility took trauma leave. Additionally, more than 1,000 flights have been cancelled, and the FAA has announced that it will temporarily slow entry and exit from busy Northeast airports.
In a May 11 interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the facility’s equipment is outdated and the software “glitch” would be fixed soon.
“We need to fix this because what we see in Newark happens elsewhere around the country,” Duffy said, describing the issue as an ongoing communications issue.
“When information comes in, some lines get overloaded and the system goes down. Specifically, in Newark, I believe we’ll get it up and running, and we can fix that glitche in a short period of time.
“And we feel a little more comfortable with our main lines entering data on the radar, and our redundant lines work just as well.”
Duffy said he didn’t say how long he would expect delays and cancellations at Newark Airport, but said the “reduced capacity” would last at least “the coming weeks.”
“I will convene a meeting of all the airlines serving Newark and ask them to agree on how they will reduce capacity.
Duffy said the transportation department is working on building a new line that runs directly from Newark to the Philadelphia Terminal Radar Approach Control, and hopes to complete it by the end of summer.
He also provided prepaid bonuses to encourage certain air traffic controllers to stay.
Overhaul of air traffic control
On May 8, Duffy announced plans to overhaul and upgrade US air traffic control systems and technologies.
These efforts include upgrading telecommunication lines to fiber optics, rebuilding several air traffic control towers and terminal radar approach controls, and implementing new radios in the towers to “communication with air traffic controllers and planes.”
“We’re rebuilding some centres, not all of them, but some centres that need to be rebuilt,” Duffy said at a press conference.
The Transport Secretary said the plan also includes new ground radar sensors on the airport runway.
“Our air traffic controllers in the tower are looking through binoculars to see the plane,” Duffy said. “If it’s cloudy or rainy, it can be very challenging if the weather is bad. I want to have all the tools so that I can see where the airport aircraft are on the terminal screen.”
The Transportation sector will also introduce new flight management systems to improve airspace efficiency and enable airlines to manage flights better, allowing new hardware, software and equipment for controllers to overhaul and upgrade US air traffic control.
Jack Phillips contributed to this report.
