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FAA and Airlines Meet to Address Newark Airport Delays and Safety Concerns

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy testifies on Capitol Hill as the FAA enforces flight caps, tackles technology failures, and grapples with severe air traffic controller shortages.

FILE - Rescue and salvage crews pull up a part of a Army Black Hawk helicopter that collided midair with an American Airlines jet, at a wreckage site in the Potomac River from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Feb. 6, 2025, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)
FILE - Salvage crews work on recovering wreckage near the site in the Potomac River of a mid-air collision between an American Airlines jet and a Black Hawk helicopter at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)
Air traffic control tower at Fayetteville Regional Airport Thursday Dec. 11, 2014.

Overview

  • Newark Liberty International Airport is operating under strict flight caps of 28 arrivals and 28 departures per hour due to ongoing staffing and technology challenges.
  • Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is leading efforts to modernize outdated radar and communications systems, with new fiber-optic lines undergoing testing and STARS upgrades planned by year-end.
  • The FAA has convened an emergency task force and is collaborating with airlines to manage schedules, aiming to reduce delays and cancellations exacerbated by runway construction and weather disruptions.
  • A nationwide shortage of 3,000 air traffic controllers, worsened by trauma leaves after recent outages, continues to strain the Philadelphia TRACON facility responsible for Newark operations.
  • Congressional hearings are examining FAA funding and safety measures, with Duffy advocating for billions in investments to overhaul aging infrastructure and expedite controller hiring.