Trouble at Newark Airport: What Does it Mean for Travel Safety

Trouble at Newark Airport: What Does it Mean for Travel Safety?

Over the past several weeks, Newark International Airport has had thousands of flight delays and cancellations, which the FAA attributes to outdated technology failures and a shortage of air traffic controllers. 

Newark, one of the busiest airports in the US, isn’t alone in its challenges — according to the FAA, airport infrastructure across the country is in dire need of an upgrade. However, the frequency and scale of the problems at Newark have caused widespread concern, causing individuals and government officials to ask — is air travel still safe in the US? 

What’s Happening at Newark?

In two recent incidents, air traffic controllers at Newark lost communication with planes for as long as 90 seconds due to the failure of the main line that carries the radar signal, followed by a malfunctioning backup system that didn’t kick in immediately. The line failed a third time as well, but that time, the backup system worked.

After the first communication loss, several air traffic controllers requested a 45-day trauma leave, a special leave for employees who experienced a traumatic event or injury. This has further exacerbated the already-short-staffed facilities at Newark; typically, there are supposed to be 38 certified controllers at Newark, but there are currently 22 (with several more in training). Due to the shortage, the FAA limited the number of daily flights going in and out of the airport. 

Prior to the challenges, about 38 flights would take off from Newark every hour. With staff shortages, a rehabilitation runway construction project, and technology challenges, between 24 and 28 planes are now taking off every hour. This is expected to continue until mid-June, at which time the runway construction project will be finished, and the controllers who went on leave will be back. 

The FAA has also installed new fiber optic lines at Newark — some of the current ones are copper — but they are still being tested and won’t be operational until the end of May. Once all the challenges are resolved, officials expect to see Newark flights resume their normal schedule. 

Despite growing concerns due to the many flight cancellations and delays, FAA Administrator Chris Rocheleau has said, “I can tell you, uncategorically, that the travel into Newark today is safe.”

Airport Improvements at the National Level

Transportation Department Secretary Sean Duffy blamed the country’s airport troubles on the Biden administration for failing to upgrade the outdated air traffic control system, but Congress reports that it’s been fighting the poorly equipped system and shortage of controllers as far back as the 1990s. 

Duffy and the Trump administration are seeking to rectify the situation. In February, Trump announced large-scale layoffs from the FAA — none of which were “air traffic controllers or critical safety personnel,” Duffy said. The layoffs are part of a larger plan to improve the efficiency of governmental departments.

The Department of Transportation has also announced a multi-billion-dollar, three-year plan to overhaul the entire air traffic control system, which includes replacing over 600 radars, installing 4,600 new high-speed connections, and upgrading controller computers. 

Is Airline Travel Still Safe?

There seems to have been an alarming number of airplane crashes since the beginning of the year, including the collision of a commercial airliner with a military helicopter near Washington D.C., which killed 67 people. FAA officials, however, have cited statistics that air travel is as safe now as it ever was.

In fact, according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the number of aviation incidents this year has actually decreased from the same period last year (this year: 250, last year: 275). Long-term statistics also show that air travel is significantly safer than driving — MIT research suggests that US residents are 1,753 times more likely to die in a car accident than in a plane crash. 

While the statistics present the facts, public fear has been largely driven by social media and attention-seeking headlines. The FAA maintains that flying in the US is safe; however, every person must be comfortable with their choice. For now, anyone flying from Newark is advised to approach the experience with patience.