A third equipment outage in recent days disrupted operations at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) on Sunday morning, grounding flights for nearly an hour and fueling an ongoing debate about air traffic control reliability and privatization, Fox News reports.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed that a telecommunications failure occurred at the Philadelphia TRACON Area C, the facility responsible for directing aircraft in and out of Newark’s airspace. According to the agency, radar screens briefly went dark, prompting a precautionary ground stop that lasted approximately 45 minutes.
“The FAA briefly slowed aircraft in and out of the airport while we ensured redundancies were working as designed. Operations have returned to normal,” the agency said in a statement provided to FOX Business. No injuries or major incidents were reported, though the FAA declined to provide additional technical details.
According to flight tracking website FlightAware, 70 flights were canceled at Newark within the last 24 hours, reflecting growing concern over the airport’s operational reliability.
The latest outage is the third reported incident affecting Newark’s air traffic systems this week. It follows a string of technical difficulties that have drawn national attention and reignited calls for reform, including renewed interest in the privatization of air traffic control services.
On Sunday, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby appeared in a pre-recorded interview on CBS News’ Face the Nation, attempting to reassure the public.
“Flying remains by far the safest mode of travel,” Kirby said. “I understand people’s frustrations, but aviation professionals — at United, across the FAA, and industry-wide — are deeply committed to safety. It’s in our DNA.”
Despite Kirby’s reassurances, the disruptions have placed pressure on the FAA and U.S. Department of Transportation. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy addressed the issue on NBC’s Meet the Press, expressing frustration with the impact on travelers.
“I hate delays, I hate cancellations and I hate seeing families — especially with small children — stuck in terminals for hours,” Duffy said. “If we need to slow flights down to keep people safe, that’s exactly what we’ll do.”
In response to the mounting concerns, the FAA has scheduled a “scheduling reduction meeting” for Wednesday to discuss further cutbacks to Newark’s flight volume. Duffy and Kirby have both acknowledged that EWR’s flight capacity has already been reduced, but more adjustments may be necessary.
Meanwhile, delays are not isolated to Newark. On Sunday afternoon, the FAA confirmed it had also slowed arrivals at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport due to a separate runway equipment issue. Technicians are currently addressing that problem.
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