Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey suffered from staffing issues and a radio outage on Monday, weeks after a previous radio outage was reported at a nearby Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) station.
The FAA told Fox News that Philadelphia TRACON Area C “lost radio frequencies” at around 11:35 a.m. on Monday. The delay lasted two seconds.
“All aircraft remained safely separated,” the statement added. “The FAA is investigating.”
Also on Monday, the FAA issued a ground delay at Newark Airport lasting from 2:07 p.m. to 11:59 p.m. The agency listed “staffing” as the reason for the move.
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Philadelphia TRACON Area C is the same facility where air traffic controllers suffered a 90-second-long outage on Apr. 28. The FAA outpost guides flights into and out of Newark.
The National Air Traffic Controllers Association confirmed the Apr. 28 incident to Fox News Digital, writing that the Philadelphia TRACON Area C “temporarily lost radar and communications with the aircraft under their control, unable to see, hear, or talk to them.”
“The dedicated, American, hard-working employees who serve as controllers are the foundation of our air traffic control system,” the union added. “These controllers and the thousands of other aviation safety professionals represented by NATCA ensure the safe and efficient movement of millions of passengers and tons of cargo through our dynamic airspace every day.”
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That month, Newark Airport suffered from hundreds upon hundreds of flight cancellations and delays, prompting a response from the federal government. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy called for an infrastructural update to air transportation in response to the chaos.
“The technology that we are using is old. That’s what is causing the outages and delays we are seeing at Newark,” Duffy said on X.
“If we don’t act, we will start to see these issues across the national airspace,” the social media post added. “That’s why I’m announcing a plan next week to build an all-new air traffic control system.”
FOX Business’ Elise Oggioni contributed to this report.
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