Due to a nationwide shortage of air traffic controllers, delays are expected at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, NJ on Wednesday July 3, 2024.

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating a brief radio outage at the facility that handles flights at Newark Liberty International Airport, the latest in a series of air traffic control incidents that have plagued one of the nation’s busiest hubs in recent weeks.

Area C of the Philadelphia Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) facility lost radio frequencies for about two seconds at around 11:35 a.m. ET on May 19, the FAA said in a statement to USA TODAY. All aircraft remained safely separated, and operations are normal, according to the agency.

The facility, which directs flights in and out of Newark, New Jersey, has faced a string of telecommunications outages since April 28, when a temporary radio and radar outage caused air traffic controllers to lose track of and communication with incoming flights. The initial incident caused dozens of flight diversions.

Following the April 28 incident, several controllers were on medical leave under the Federal Employees Compensation Act, citing stress from repeated outages. Their absence and ongoing staffing issues, in addition to equipment failures, have led to persistent flight disruptions at Newark Airport.

The incidents have renewed scrutiny over the country's aging air traffic control system, and U.S. officials have warned that the FAA could experience other telecommunication failures. On May 12, an air traffic control facility in Colorado experienced a communications outage for about 90 seconds.

"What you see in Newark, we’re going to have to fix, we’re going to do it fast, but we’re going to do it right," Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said at a news conference on May 12. "We could see other situations like this around the country because the system is old."

'Unable to handle the current level of scheduled operations'

On May 12, the FAA announced that it was convening an emergency task force and fast-tracking urgent steps to prevent additional telecommunication outages at the Philadelphia TRACON facility, according to Reuters. Acting Federal Aviation Administration head Chris Rocheleau said the task force will include L3Harris Technologies, Verizon, and other technical experts.

The FAA also met with airline executives and proposed to reduce the number of aircraft operations at Newark Airport after three days of one-on-one meetings, USA TODAY reported on May 16.

The agency proposed an hourly arrival rate of no more than 28 flights through June 15 while one of the airport's runways is under construction. After that, the arrival rate will be capped at 34 per hour through Oct. 25 when construction is not ongoing.

In a letter addressed to United Airlines employees, CEO Scott Kirby, who cited the FAA, said Newark Airport is designed to handle 77 departures and arrivals per hour at its peak, but airlines routinely schedule more flights than that. The new proposed arrival rates are well below the maximum capacity.

The FAA said it plans to make a final determination on arrival rates on or after May 28, according to Reuters.

"The airport clearly is unable to handle the current level of scheduled operations," the FAA said, adding it believes the proposal "would reduce overscheduling, flight delays, and cancellations to an acceptable level."

Federal officials plan to improve the aging air traffic control system

Federal officials have noted that the FAA has been "slow to modernize." According to a 2024 report from the Government Accountability Office, the agency has 138 information systems for air traffic control, and 51 are unsustainable due to outdated functionality, a lack of spare parts, and other issues.

On May 8, Duffy proposed to spend billions of dollars to modernize the national air traffic control system over the next three to four years. The transportation secretary noted that equipment failures, like the one at Newark Airport, will be more common if the infrastructure is not upgraded.

"Decades of neglect have left us with an outdated system that is showing its age. Building this new system is an economic and national security necessity, and the time to fix it is now," Duffy said in a statement.

The proposal came after the FAA and the Department of Transportation promised upgrades to the air traffic control system, starting with Newark. The agency said it has already begun work on adding redundant telecommunications equipment and is also planning to increase hiring of air traffic controllers.

Nationwide, the FAA is about 3,500 air traffic controllers short of targeted staffing levels, according to Reuters. The area responsible for Newark Airport has a targeted staffing level of 38 certified controllers, but currently has just 24 in place.

Contributing: Zach Wichter, Josh Rivera, and Eve Chen, USA TODAY; Reuters

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: FAA investigating brief radio outage at air traffic facility that guides Newark flights

Reporting by Thao Nguyen, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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