Denver Air Traffic Control Hit by Nearly 2 Minute Comms Outage, Echoing Newark

U.S. aviation safety regulators are investigating a communications outage affecting flights approaching Denver International Airport earlier this week, the latest in a series of glitches that have put a spotlight on the nation’s aging air traffic control system.

Part of the air route traffic control center handling Denver flights lost communications for about 90 seconds on Monday afternoon, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement. Both transmitters that cover a segment of airspace there went down, and controllers used another frequency to communicate with pilots.

Aircraft remained at a safe distance from one another and operations were not impacted, the FAA said Thursday.

The issue follows several high-profile disruptions in the Northeast, renewing concerns over an air traffic system strained by old technology and a shortage of qualified workers. A pair of radar and radio outages affecting Newark Liberty International Airport in recent weeks left controllers briefly unable to see or communicate with planes in the air. None of the incidents resulted in accidents or injuries.

“These events continue to underscore the urgent need to rapidly modernize our air traffic control system,” Jason Ambrosi, president of the Air Line Pilots Association, said in a statement. “Radio communications are critical to flight safety, and each outage reinforces how important it is for the United States to prioritize this essential work.”

Airlines are meeting with FAA officials in Washington this week to discuss potential reductions in flights at Newark to ease traffic snarls at the New York City area hub. An emergency task force has also been formed to address the breakdowns.

The Denver airport is a hub for United Airlines Holdings Inc., which has the largest share of passengers, followed by Southwest Airlines Co. and Frontier Airlines. United and Southwest said their operations were unaffected. Frontier didn’t respond to a request for comment. The airport directed inquiries to the FAA.

The Denver outage affected as many as 20 flights, according to ABC affiliate Denver7. Four radio transmitter frequencies at the air traffic control center in Longmont, Colorado, were already out of service when a backup fifth frequency went down, the report said, citing unidentified sources.

A controller eventually was able to communicate with one pilot on a “guard line” normally reserved for distress situations, and that pilot contacted other aircraft to advise them to change frequencies, Denver7 reported.

Top photo: A baggage handler works outside an Airbus A320-251N aircraft, operated by Frontier, at the Jeppesen Terminal at Denver International Airport (DEN) in Denver, Colorado, on Saturday, Aug. 19, 2023.