{"id":8915,"date":"2025-05-05T21:28:17","date_gmt":"2025-05-06T01:28:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sharewatch.com\/wp\/2025\/05\/05\/newark-delays-persist-as-union-official-says-controllers-briefly-lost-contact-with-planes\/"},"modified":"2025-05-05T21:28:17","modified_gmt":"2025-05-06T01:28:17","slug":"newark-delays-persist-as-union-official-says-controllers-briefly-lost-contact-with-planes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sharewatch.com\/wp\/2025\/05\/05\/newark-delays-persist-as-union-official-says-controllers-briefly-lost-contact-with-planes\/","title":{"rendered":"Newark Delays Persist as Union Official Says Controllers Briefly Lost Contact With Planes"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Air traffic controllers briefly lost communication with planes at Newark Liberty International Airport last week, according to the workers\u2019 union, a revelation that came as travel disruptions there extended into a second week.<\/p>\n

Galen Munroe, a spokesman for the union, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, said that on April 28, controllers in a Philadelphia air traffic control center who are responsible for separating and sequencing aircraft in and out of Newark Airport \u201ctemporarily lost radar and communications with the aircraft under their control,\u201d and were \u201cunable to see, hear, or talk to them.\u201d<\/p>\n

He did not say how long the disruption lasted, but Bloomberg reported it was 90 seconds.<\/p>\n

The communication breakdown led to hundreds of delays and cancellations and three dozen flight diversions that day, according to Aidan O\u2019Donnell, the general manager of New Jersey airports at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. He added that for two hours that afternoon, no flights departed from or landed at Newark.<\/p>\n

As a result of the loss of communication, Mr. Munroe said, controllers took absences under a law that allows federal workers who are physically injured or experience a traumatic event on the job to leave work. They did not \u201c\u2018walk off the job\u2019 as it has been reported by the media,\u201d Mr. Munroe said in a statement.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<\/div>\n

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The Federal Aviation Administration acknowledged in a statement on Monday that \u201cour antiquated air traffic control system is affecting our work force.\u201d It said it was working to ensure that telecommunications equipment is more reliable in the New York area.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrequent equipment and telecommunications outages can be stressful for controllers,\u201d the F.A.A. said.<\/p>\n

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