Newark Airport was put under a brief ground stop on Sunday morning after yet another technology problem at its air traffic control facility, authorities said.
An unspecified “telecommunications issue” forced the 45-minute shutdown at the delay-plagued airport, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement. Arrivals and departures were slowed before the airport returned to normal operations.
Sunday morning’s incident was the latest in a series of problems at Newark, which Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said will lead to flight cuts over “the next several weeks.” Duffy said he plans to meet with several airline executives to slash flights at the problem-plagued airport. United Airlines, Newark’s biggest carrier, already cut 35 daily flights last week.
“We want to have a number of flights that if you book your flight, you know it’s going to fly, right?” Duffy said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “That is the priority. So you don’t get to the airport, wait four hours, and then get delayed.”
Following the ground stop, more than 110 flights into Newark were delayed on Sunday and more than 40 were canceled entirely, according to flight tracking website FlightAware. Meanwhile, nearly 40 departing flights were canceled and more than 50 were delayed.
KENA BETANCUR/AFP via Getty Images
A United plane is parked at the gate at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey on May 7. (Photo by KENA BETANCUR/AFP via Getty Images)
There have now been three outages in the past two weeks at the Philadelphia air traffic control facility that handles the North Jersey airspace above Newark. In the two prior incidents, air traffic controllers lost radio and radar connections, leaving them unable to track planes or speak with pilots for brief but terrifying moments.
Duffy has announced a plan to improve air traffic control systems nationwide, with updated technology and new facilities expected. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) called for Newark to be first in line for those upgrades given the recent issues.
“Newark is a harbinger,” Schumer said Sunday. “If this dangerous situation can happen in the metro region, imagine what might happen in places where there is less scrutiny. This really makes you worry.”
With News Wire Services
