A telecommunications outage at Newark Airport early Friday morning caused radar screens to go dark for approximately 90 seconds, affecting air traffic communications. Controllers were unable to communicate with aircraft, leading to temporary delays and cancellations. This incident follows a similar outage from April 28 that previously caused significant disruptions, prompting air traffic controllers to invoke federal protections due to trauma experienced on the job. In response, local Congressman Josh Gottheimer is demanding immediate action to address the crisis, while Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has announced upcoming upgrades to the air traffic control system.
In a statement from the FAA, the telecommunications outage occurred around 3:55 a.m. on Friday, May 9, impacting radar display at Philadelphia TRACON Area C.
The union representing the air traffic controllers explained that previous outages caused controllers to take absence under the Federal Employees Compensation Act due to the traumatic nature of the events.
Congressman Josh Gottheimer is set to hold a press conference demanding urgent actions to resolve the ongoing air traffic control issues affecting Newark Airport.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy assured that steps are being taken to address the air traffic control system crisis that has led to significant travel disruptions.
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