Newark, air traffic control
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Radar systems at Newark Liberty International Airport stopped working for about 90 seconds Friday morning, the second major outage for the New Jersey airport.
Passengers traveling in and out of Newark at the end of the week shouldn't expect smooth sailing. Here's the latest at the New Jersey airport.
“I equate a good, A-level, traffic controller that can handle a place like Newark, JFK, LAX, San Francisco, to a three dimensional chess player who can juggle a chainsaw, an axe, a sword, a razor blade with his eyes closed,” Aero Consulting Experts CEO and a former United pilot Ross Aimer told Fortune.
2hon MSN
Similar to last summer, there is currently a nationwide shortage of air traffic controllers, which will “take time” to replenish, according to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.
The Federal Aviation Administration recently announced a three-year plan to upgrade air traffic control systems nationwide.
A reporter asked Duffy on Monday why the first Trump administration chose not to address the air traffic control system during his first term in office, noting that Duffy said it was a “decades-old” problem. However, Duffy’s answer left many users on social media scratching their heads.
The United States aviation industry continues to grapple with the worst air traffic controller shortage in nearly 30 years as a recent spate of incidents has thrust the high-stress profession into the spotlight.
One air traffic controller (ATC) and a trainee will operate every flight in and out of Newark between 6.30pm-9.30pm — despite 15 staffers being the standard requirement for a shift.