Newark Airspace Breakdowns Examined by FAA, Verizon Task Force

U.S. aviation safety regulators formed an emergency task force to address technology breakdowns that briefly blinded air traffic controllers guiding planes in and out of Newark airport in recent weeks.

Federal Aviation Administration personnel will be joined by experts from Verizon Communications Inc. and L3Harris Technologies Inc. in the effort, acting FAA administrator Chris Rocheleau told reporters on Monday.

“We’re very focused on making sure that travel into Newark is safe and efficient,” Rocheleau said, adding that “travel into Newark today is safe.”

Telecommunications failures at an FAA facility in Philadelphia briefly knocked out radar and radio twice in recent weeks, leaving air traffic controllers unable to communicate with or see planes heading into and out of Newark Liberty International Airport. The breakdowns led to hundreds of delays and cancellations at the airport. The FAA and airlines plan to meet starting Wednesday to discuss additional flight restrictions at the key East Coast hub.

Speaking alongside Rocheleau at a press conference, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy blamed the Biden administration and Pete Buttigieg, Duffy’s predecessor, for not doing more to upgrade air traffic control systems.

Duffy said Biden and Buttigieg “bungled” a decision to move responsibility for handling Newark-bound traffic from a facility in New York state to Philadelphia, saying the move was made “without properly hardening” the lines that feed data to the site.

Top photo: The FAA Air Traffic Control tower at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) in Newark, New Jersey, on Tuesday, March 19, 2024.