Overview

• The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed a 90-second radar and communications outage at 3:55 a.m. on May 9, affecting Newark Liberty International Airport operations.
• This is the second outage in two weeks at the Philadelphia TRACON facility, which oversees Newark's airspace, following a similar incident on April 28.
• Flight disruptions mounted, with nearly 300 delays and 135 cancellations reported by midday Friday, compounded by ongoing runway construction and staffing shortages.
• The FAA announced immediate measures, including adding high-bandwidth telecom connections, deploying a temporary backup system, and increasing controller staffing.
• Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy unveiled a multi-billion-dollar plan to overhaul the U.S. air traffic control system, targeting outdated infrastructure and chronic underinvestment.