Telecommunications Failure Halts Arriving Flights at Newark Airport for Over an Hour
A failure in a telecommunications frequency forced the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to halt arriving flights at New Jersey’s Newark Liberty International Airport for over an hour. The incident, which occurred this Thursday, adds to a series of technical problems that have complicated operations at this hub in recent months, which is considered a strategic base for United Airlines.
Immediate Impact on Operations
According to the flight tracking platform Flightradar24, arrivals into Newark were suspended, while aircraft already en route had to enter holding patterns. Departures, however, were not affected.
The FAA reported that after the restriction was lifted, average arrival delays reached 158 minutes and continued to increase as operations resumed. In total, the disruption lasted approximately 75 minutes.
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History of Communication Failures
This episode is not an isolated one. Earlier this year, in April and May, two serious outages were recorded in the communications systems for the air traffic controllers responsible for Newark’s airspace. Those incidents led to the disruption of hundreds of flights.
In response, the FAA ordered a reduction in operations at Newark in May to mitigate the impact of such disruptions. Furthermore, it proposed extending this measure until the end of October.
Last year, the aviation authority had decided to transfer control of Newark’s airspace to Philadelphia to improve traffic management in the congested New York area. Subsequently, it implemented technological upgrades to communications systems aiming to prevent new failures.
Even so, the agency acknowledged that it continues to work on hiring more air traffic controllers to reinforce safety and prevent recurrences of interruptions like the one this Thursday.
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